An urban explorer from Bury has stumbled upon a hauntingly deserted Wild West-themed amusement park in Japan, left untouched for nearly two decades. Luke Bradburn, 28, made the discovery during a visit to the long-forgotten tourist attraction known as Western Village, a once-popular Western-style arcade and entertainment park in Nikko.
Once a bustling family destination, the park has now descended into decay. Its standout feature—a £20 million replica of Mount Rushmore carved into the landscape—is now crumbling and overgrown. Luke spent three hours exploring the abandoned site, where entire sections remain frozen in time with dusty arcade machines and eerie animatronics.
Luke said: "When I was walking around, it felt so apocalyptic. It was completely silent but everything still remaining yet overgrown." He travelled to the site in February 2024, nearly 20 years after the park closed its gates for good in 2007.
Western Village opened in 1976 and was once a booming tourist hotspot, drawing crowds from around the world to experience Japan's interpretation of the Wild West. Inside, entire sections appear untouched since the day it closed, with dusty arcade machines, eerie animatronics, and even abandoned bottles still sitting on tables.
Luke spent around three hours exploring the ghostly attraction, wandering through creaking saloon-style buildings and testing out the long-forgotten arcade games scattered throughout the derelict site. According to Luke, the site shut due to increased competition from other amusement parks and its remote location.
"It's crazy to see how everything is still intact," he said. "It's very different in Japan. The crime rate is so low that abandoned buildings don't get looted or destroyed as quickly, leaving them stood but derelict for years."
