The Royal Hotel Hachijojima

Walking from the main port of Hachijojima towards the hotel.

“Do Not Enter” written on a piece of wood outside of the hotel entrance.

The entrance to The Royal Hotel. One of the pieces of glass was knocked out, allowing entry.

Upon gaining access to the inside, I was met by the main lobby of the hotel. Keeping as quiet as possible in case any security or squatters hear me, I tip-toed around the premises.

Care to take a seat while you wait for check-in?

The the ride-side of the lobby was a dilapidated lounge area where guests could grab a drink.

Around the back of the lobby I entered the office area, where this employee break/meeting room was situated.

The employee office area, complete with old computers and desks that look like they were left as-is in a hurry. The bedding seems more recent, like someone was squatting in the area as of late.

The main staircase from the lobby to the second floor of the hotel (looking down at the lobby, check-in desks, and main entryway).

The first few rooms I checked out were in remarkably good shape, especially considering they had been abandoned 11 years prior.

Some of the rooms, such as this western-style guest room, looked like they had been used over the years by various squatters.

I quickly found out that not all of the rooms were in such great shape though. Apparently the roof of one section of the hotel had given in, allowing the elements to ravage the rooms below.

Still wary of the presence of squatters or security, I carefully crept from room to room. This room was hit pretty bad, with the roof collapsed all over the place.

Seemed that about half of the rooms were western-style, while the other half were Japanese-style, with tatami mats and futons.

Room amenities, such as this wooden tray with yukatas (Japanese robes) and obi (belt sash) for guests, are still immaculately preserved.

Laundry room.

Storage room full of tables and chairs.

Climbing on up, from the ground floor to the second floor, then the third floor, I realized each floor was approximately half western-style rooms, and half Japanese-style rooms (with futons and tatami mats). Half of the rooms were in areas in the middle of the hotel where the roof had given away and were in various states of disrepair, while other rooms look like they had been made that morning.

This room, right across the hall from the prior photo, looked completely new and untouched in the prior decade.

A view of the interior courtyard from the window of a third floor room. You can see the area where I gained access to the interior of the building, carpeted in bright-green astroturf.

The most striking rooms where the ones that hadn’t totally collapsed, but water and sunlight (and apparently some seeds) had found their way in, creating a very post-apocalyptic juxtaposition of man versus nature.

Fancy some telly? (same room as prior photo)

Another great example of a room that had a veritable forest growing inside of it.

Crossing over to the opposite wing of the hotel, I take a chance to grab a great shot of the eastern coast, with Hachijo-Fuji mountain in the background (which I climbed the day prior).

This room had pieces of ceiling and drywall all over, but had escaped turning into a greenhouse like the neighboring rooms.

Heading all the way up to the top (fourth) floor, I came across an expansive event room. There was a stage at the front of the room, and the backroom was filled with audio/visual gear such as karaoke machines, laserdiscs, speakers, and mixing boards.

In the same way the guest rooms were segregated into western- and Japanese-style varieties, so it was with the event rooms. Next door was the Japanese-style room, floor covered in dozens of tatami mats.

To the side of the event rooms was a professional kitchen, capable of dishing out meals for the large groups that used the hotel as their event space (weddings, corporate functions etc.). Besides a few aesthetic blemishes, everything looked to be in such good condition that I could imagine it being put into use later the same day.

The kitchen cupboards were full of plates, cups, and other utensils and servingware.

In much the same condition as the first-floor employee break room, the event floor break room was also thoroughly out-of-order (albeit with a bit more greenery involved).

The lobby/waiting room outside of the two event halls on the fourth floor.

At the end of the event floor lobby is a piano. Massively out-of-tune, but still works!

Heading low on phone battery, I headed back down to the first floor to check out the last areas I had yet to explore. At this point I was sure that I was alone in the hotel, which made things a bit easier. This is the first floor bar (and possibly sushi) area. Notice the sake bottles and glasses, along with sushi servingware on the shelves.

One floor down from the entry lobby is a recreation area with what looks like a restaurant and kitchen, pool tables, daycare area, and lounge.

The hotel also featured large gender-segregated bath houses, known in Japanese as onsen, on the ground floor.