Tokyo Weekender reader Bruce Bridges shares his father’s fascinating images of the doomed theme park, giving us a glimpse at life in Japan in the 60s.
Often thought of as the sister to Nara Dreamland, Yokohama Dreamland Amusement Park operated from 1964 to 2002. But unlike its Nara sibling, which lies abandoned and deteriorating, Yokohama Dreamland was demolished after running into financial troubles and a struggle to maintain the Yokohama Dreamland Monorail. In 2005, the site was taken over by the Yokohama College of Pharmacy.
As Bridges himself says, there is something very surreal about the photos. Perhaps it’s the knowledge that the park no longer exists, or just the fact that we don’t often see images like this of Japan. Bridges’ father served in the military and took the images while visiting Japan on leave from Vietnam. Below, we’ve picked our favorite photos from Bridges’ album, and you can view the rest here.
