Secret ABANDONED CITY Hidden in a valley, Many treasures left beneath

, abandoned, abandonedworld The Kinugawa Onsen district in Tochigi Prefecture is one of the top three hot spring resort areas in Japan, historically known for its hot spring sources that date back to the late 1600s. From the mid1700s the area became popular with feudal lords and Buddhist monks as a stopover during a pilgrimage to Nikko. The onsen became accessible to the general public in the late 1800s and Hotel development took off in the 1920s, making it a leading destination for largescale hot spring resorts, with its accessibility from Tokyo improved by the Kinu Express after WWII. quickly making this one of the leading largescale hot spring resort areas in Japan. Fast forward to the 1970s when the asset bubble collapsed, the tourism industry suddenly declined. For more than 20 years The district is now facing a serious problem with abandoned and unsafe hotels, as the city of Nikko has identified 16 abandoned hotels and ryokans in need of attention, with three in a dangerous state of disr