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An intrepid traveller managed to locate an abandoned theme park in Japan but appeared to take a huge step back in time and stumbled upon the US Wild West remade

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Claudia TrotmanAssistant Showbiz Editor

11:07, 16 MAY 2025
Updated11:12, 16 MAY 2025

One explorer was shocked by his findings

(Image: Lukka Bradburn / SWNS)

An urban explorer visited the haunting remains of two abandoned Japanese theme parks. Lukka Bradburn, 28, gained access to the sites while exploring the nearby ghost towns left behind after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 and found an entire derelict colonial American town area with hotels, churches and restaurants. Western Village theme park near Nikk, Tochigi, closed in 2007 but there is still a vast, empty landscape reminiscent of 1800s America.

Opened in 1973, it was inspired by classic American and Italian Western movies but closed because of competition from Tokyo Disneyland. Lukka discovered a replica of Mount Rushmore still intact, along with saloon bars and a stadium where crowds once watched jousting and other sports.

The site is littered with mannequins depicting life in 'Wild West' America. The gift shop was boarded-up and heavily damaged but Lukka managed to find a prop gun on the floor and an arcade with all the original machines.

Lukka also explored the remains of Kejonuma Leisure Land, which once attracted 200,000 visitors in the remote Tohoku region, but shut in 2001.

He found a decaying ornate ferris wheel, carousels and children's train rides. The attraction closed due to falling demand and the struggling Japanese economy.

Lukka, a printer and father-of-two, was visiting Japan with some exploring friends when he came across the parks after researching the areas on Google Maps. He said both sites were easily accessed.

"The Western one had a bit of a fence but you could pretty much just walk in," he said. "There was no security or anyone watching over it; it was just left to rot.

Both were in rural areas surrounded by countryside, mountains and small towns, creating the picturesque snowy scenery seen in the photos.

Lukka, from Manchester, said: As we got to one park it was heavily snowing and we were having to get through all these bushes. It was quite overgrown.

He and his friends came across another urban explorer - a Japanese man who said he used to visit the park as a child.

The man, who spoke limited English, told the friends he had returned to take photographs of the theme park.

Lukka plans to return to Japan next year and explore more red zones as well as abandoned islands.

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'Noodle' Western

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An urban explorer visited the haunting remains of two abandoned Japanese theme parks.

(Image: Lukka Bradburn / SWNS)1 of 13

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Ghostly remains

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Lukka Bradburn, 28, gained access to the sites while exploring the nearby ghost towns left behind after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 and found an entire derelict colonial American town area with hotels, churches and restaurants.

(Image: Lukka Bradburn / SWNS)2 of 13