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  "path": "/2026/06/16/inside-japans-abandoned-wild-west-theme-park-left-rot-20-years-28799712/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-16T13:04:38.000Z",
  "site": "https://metro.co.uk",
  "tags": [
    "News",
    "World",
    "abandoned",
    "Japan",
    "Theme parks",
    "Weird news",
    "Summer",
    "Alton Towers",
    "there are many others",
    "doors over the years",
    "urban explorer",
    "Tokyo",
    "Tokyo Disneyland",
    "Join our community",
    "Manchester",
    "crime",
    "social media",
    "Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google\nAdd as preferred source"
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  "textContent": "Western Village was once a hugely popular attraction (Picture: Luke Bradburn / SWNS)\n\nSummer is here, and for many of us the season wouldn’t be complete without a trip to a theme park, taking in the rides, rollercoasters and everything else your favourite has to offer.\n\nBut for every Alton Towers and Legoland that’s preparing to welcome its seasonal influx of visitors, there are many others which have closed their doors over the years – and been left to rot, with their rides and attractions still standing.\n\nUnsurprisingly many of these have become a source of fascination, with one urban explorer coming across this park in Japan which still sits abandoned more than 20 years after it shut.\n\nWestern Village – located in Nikko, around two hours drive from Tokyo – was a once-popular arcade and entertainment park, but as explorer Luke Bradburn discovered when he visited, the bustling family destination has now descended into decay.\n\nThe park originally opened its doors in 1973 as a small attraction called Kinugawa Family Ranch, which focused on fishing, horse riding and other outdoor pursuits.\n\nAfter being rebranded as Western Village in 1975 – and taking its inspiration from the American Wild West – it became a booming tourist destination, with crowds flocking from all over the world to visit.\n\nThe park has been left to rot since it closed in 2007 (Picture: Luke Bradburn / SWNS)\n\nThose who went had the chance to enjoy a recreation of a 19th Century frontier town, complete with bank, barber shop, sheriff’s office and general store, as well as arcades, animatronic displays and live stunt shows, in which actors playing cowboys and outlaws would re-enact gunfights.\n\nA church modelled on those in the Old West was among the main attractions (Picture: Luke Bradburn / SWNS)\n\nThere was even a train visitors could take round the park – which often was the subject of a staged robbery by actors playing outlaws.\n\nAnd in 1995 the park added its biggest feature – a £20 million, one-third scale replica of America’s famous Mount Rushmore, which was carved into the landscape.\n\nA scaled-down replica of Mount Rushmore opened in 1995 (Picture: Luke Bradburn / SWNS)\n\nBut despite its initial success Western Village – which it’s estimated cost its owners over £75m over the decades – gradually began to lose out to competitors such as Universal Studios Japan and Tokyo Disneyland.\n\nIn 2007 it shut its doors for the last time – and as Luke discovered when he visited in 2024, it has since become frozen in time.\n\n##  Follow Metro on WhatsApp to be the first to get all the latest news\n\nFollow us to receive the latest news updates from Metro (Picture: Getty Images)\n\nMetro’s on Whatsapp! Join our community for breaking news and juicy stories.\n\nMany of the attractions still sit abandoned (Picture: Luke Bradburn / SWNS)\n\n‘When I was walking around, it felt so apocalyptic,’ the 28-year-old from Bury, Greater Manchester, explained. ‘It was completely silent but everything still remaining yet overgrown.’\n\nMany of the park’s sections appear untouched since the day it was closed -with arcade machines gathering dust, abandoned bottles still sitting on tables and eerie animatronics scattered throughout the site.\n\nThe derelict park remains an attraction for urban explorers and other curious tourists (Picture: Luke Bradburn / SWNS)\n\nInside, entire sections appear untouched since the day it closed, with dusty arcade machines, eerie animatronics, and even abandoned bottles still sitting on tables.\n\nLuke also discovered creaking saloon-style buildings which once played host to thousands of tourists – as well as testing out the long-forgotten arcade games.\n\nLuke tried many of the arcade games and rides left to gather dust (Picture: Luke Bradburn / SWNS)\n\nHe added that the site shut due to the increase in competition from other amusement parks – while its remote location didn’t help matters either.\n\n‘It’s crazy to see how everything is still intact,’ he said. ‘It’s very different in Japan.\n\nOf course it’s not remotely creepy (Picture:: Luke Bradburn / SWNS)\n\n‘The crime rate is so low that abandoned buildings don’t get looted or destroyed as quickly, leaving them stood but derelict for years.’\n\nSome reports have suggested the park is being gradually demolished (Picture: Luke Bradburn / SWNS)\n\nThe park has remained a source of fascination for those who visit the area – with other urban explorers staging walkthroughs on social media as they take in the disrepair and rotting attractions.\n\nThe website Offbeat Japan reported in January 2026 that the replica Rushmore was still attracting visitors – ‘who have to come back to check it isn’t a hallucination’ – but added that what remains of the park is ‘now being demolished little by little’.\n\nComment now Comments \nAdd Metro as a Preferred Source on Google\nAdd as preferred source\n",
  "title": "Inside Japan’s abandoned Wild West theme park left to rot for 20 years"
}