Previously I took you through one of my latest explores focussing on the beautiful colours of the once proud White Stone Mine. Today it is in shambles, slowly being re-claimed by nature. But that’s not to say there is nothing left…
Amongst the twisted metal and splintered wood lies a plethora of aged objects and items each whispering their own story. This disused mine cart sat peacefully on a section of track leading to nowhere. It was still full of the chalky white rock from the day it was abandoned.
Or how about this quaint little barrel? It was hiding in an upstairs loft that Erich (my haikyo partner for the day) found after clambering up an old water tank. I don’t know about you, but it reminds me of those Looney Toons. I was half expecting it to be filled with TNT or something…
A pair of old socks from hung along a clothesline inside a shack. I’m quite used to seeing old shoes and rags when exploring ruins, but a 40 year-old pair of socks hanging in front of my face was quite strange. I don’t think I could have removed them even if I wanted to – they had set hard and crusty.
A warning sign saying ‘High Voltage’. It was gleaning at us with its glossy white surface in front an ominous piece of machinery. The instrument itself seemed to have been stripped of its innards though. I was told by a haikyo friend that a lot of Chinese workers come here to make off with the steel and other valuable metals to take back to China.
A mini scythe atop a rusty structure. Something vaguely picturesque here, yet disturbingly morbid. I wonder what this tool was actually used for in the mine..?
Congealed ink concealed inside a warehouse. We had to brave a dodgy second floor with big holes in to find this object. Definitely not our safest moment, but we were careful to walk along the nails marking the cross-sections of the beams.
Of course, the local wildlife was out and about too. Amongst the numerous spiders, mosquitoes and frogs we came across this colourful lizard.
Not to mention a couple of groups of cosplayers. Gas masks seem to be in this season!
The little bottle above reading マーキュロ is known as Mercuro in English. An old drug widely used in households as an antiseptic, it was first discovered in 1919 by Hugh Young and has the characteristic of staining the skin red when used, making it difficult to tell which area is infected. Japan stopped production in 1973 due to concerns of mercury discharge during the manufacturing process.
And finally, a game of Go that seems to have gone wrong. Those little white pebbles surrounding this stool are the playing pieces.
Still to come! A black and white take on the mine!
What camer and lens do you use for most shot, if I may ask?
Currently an Olympus E-M5 with a selection of lenses, particularly the Panasonic 7-14mm ultra wide. These shots were taken on an older Olympus PEN camera though.
awesome photos. I love ruins!
Indeed it is!
Originally from Australia, now live in the UK, in Medway. Is that where you are from?
Indeed it is!
Thanks Natalia. Are you form the U.K? I notice some posts on your website about places near to where I used to live!
Thanks Yonasu :). Will get them up soon. Also a huge haikyo post coming up that is bigger than anything I've done to date!
Cheers Brad. The thrill of discovery is one of the best things about this hobby. It's a great feeling when you just stumble across a ruin you haven't seen documented before.
Nice looking photos! I really enjoy exploring old abandoned areas. You never know what you might find.
Absolutely beautiful. Lovely to see someone seeing the beauty in mundane objects.
Wow! Some really great photos here, I especially like the second one :) Looking forward to the black and white photos!
Haha, could well be! So many people come to this mine that it wouldn't surprise me if someone had hung them up. But having spiderwebs on them seems to suggest they have been hanging there a while…
We did indeed :p
So you met up with this cos-player in the mine?
I wonder if those really are 40 year old socks. I think it would be amazing that socks could remain hanging there for 40 years. I think they are more recent because I think they and the string would have deteriorated and fallen apart a while ago. Still very odd to see socks there like that. They probably have been there a long time nonetheless.