Situated next to a tiny, and now equally uninhabited village, the school closed way back in 1977, but remarkably it wasn’t declared officially shut until March 1990. A decision that, along with its back of beyond location, perhaps explains why so much has been left behind.

As such, it is still packed with reminders of school life. Things that were studied.

Played.

Used.

And possibly just marvelled at.

Being a good way from anything even remotely resembling civilisation, there’s also a small living area that housed a couple of male teachers. A setup that must have been more than a little cozy to say the least, consisting as it does of just one room and a kitchen.

The only obvious form of escape, besides books and magazines, being a now very battered TV.

That’s not to say the school’s female teacher had it any easier, as she often stayed with a student’s family rather than make the long trek back to wherever it was she lived.

But like most abandoned schools, the most striking thing about the building is its silence. Where once there was music.

Of which there was clearly quite a lot.

There is now very noticeably none. Which, while we were there, only magnified the sound of rain from a slow moving storm hammering down around us.

All of which seemed to emphasise the inexorable passage of time, along with the enormous changes that have taken place in the world.

And the complete lack of them at Sazuka Elementary School.

Thankfully, however, the city itself is. Sort of.

Both for business, and their brand.

Yet what made the sight really striking was that it initially looked like the young woman in question was being given mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Something that arguably wouldn’t have been all that unexpected considering her clearly unconscious state.

But that wasn’t the case. Instead, her companion was intently picking at her skin, utterly oblivious to me and his surroundings. Behaviour that made the whole situation all the more odd and unsettling.

Events that have presumably altered very little over the years.

Something that can also be said about many of the participants. People who in one way or another have probably been involved since they were kids.

And with Japan’s legendary longevity, they’ll no doubt continue to be involved for many more years to come.

So on outside appearances at least, the fare in this place should be of a fairly high standard. But even if it’s not, there’s still the consolation of the fella doing the cooking looking like a thoroughly decent sort.

Now why this should be I don’t know, but what it does do is make those that are seen all the more special. Particularly so when they are big, wonderfully genuine ones that even masks can’t disguise.

Due to the intensity of his stare, however, it was impossible to resist going through the process again, with the resultant image replicating pretty much the exact same expression and an identical pose. The only real difference being a slightly incongruous looking plaster.

Unfortunately, however, the idea was pulled at the last minute due to branding issues, leaving me with a small set of test shots. Photographs of the kind I very rarely take, so it seemed like a good idea to post them here for a bit of variety.

Walking around in the park
Should feel better than work:
The lake, the sunshine,
The grass to lie on,

Blurred playground noises
Beyond black-stockinged nurses -
Not a bad place to be.
Yet it doesn’t suit me.

Being one of the men
You meet of an afternoon:
Palsied old step-takers,
Hare-eyed clerks with the jitters,

Waxed-fleshed out-patients
Still vague from accidents,
And characters in long coats
Deep in the litter-baskets -

All dodging the toad work
By being stupid or weak.
Think of being them!

At least that’s what Philip Larkin wrote in his poem, Toads Revisited — the rest of which can be read here. A piece of work that despite being produced in the English city of Hull, in 1962, still makes total sense today. Even in Tokyo. In 2013.

But deciding whether it actually rings true or not, is still very much up for debate. Just like it was then. And no doubt will be in the future.

But, when the sun shines it appears altogether brighter, with only the looks being very obviously dirty.