Former Mitsui Bibai Gorakukan (Mining-Town Cinema)
The Gorakukan, a recreation hall for the miners and their families at the Mitsui Bibai coal mine, which once boasted the largest coal output in the East. It also served as a cinema and in its heyday was a lively gathering place for the mining community. More than half a century after the mine closed, its concrete walls have been almost completely swallowed by ivy and trees, and the interior seen through the openings sinks into darkness. Buried in green, it quietly holds the memory of a mining town once crowded with people.
See photos and posts for this place on the LIMap map
Nearby liminal spaces
- Shoto Elementary School (Garo Round School Buildings) (6.2 km)
- Asahi Elementary School (Family School Fureai) (29 km)
- Honcho, Yubari (Old Shopping Streets) (29 km)
- Moerenuma Park (42 km)
- Historical Village of Hokkaido (42 km)
- Chateraise Gateaux Kingdom Sapporo (45 km)
LIMap is a map for finding and sharing liminal spaces: places emptied of people that feel eerie and nostalgic at the same time. Many of these places are private or off-limits, so please follow the notes above and view them only from where you are allowed.