Tsuchiura Black Mansion: An Easy-to-Do Haikyo in Ibaraki Pref.

Given its somewhat rural and lowkey reputation, Ibaraki Prefecture appears to have its share of haikyo (abandoned ruins). Tsuchiura Black Mansion, a five-story apartment building in the city of Tsuchiura, is one of the more easily accessible ones.

Note that this structure is unrelated to the “black mansion” in Kasama city (also in Ibaraki). It was likely given the same name due to similarities in its “blackish” dilapidated appearance.

Seeing it for ourselves

An unfinished condominium that was abandoned before completion, Tsuchiura Black Mansion was built between sometime between 1990 and 1996. At that time, it was apparently given the tentative name of “Iizumi Building,” according to a 1996 residential map. The fact that there were seven rooms to a floor suggests that each apartment was 1LDK.

It is unclear why construction suddenly stopped. But since then it has sat in a half-finished state for decades, nonchalantly surrounded by other occupied apartment buildings.

As of May 2023, the first floor is shuttered, with different graffiti “decorating” each shutter. On one of the shutters, a sign reads “No Trespassing, 1 million yen fine.” Needless to say, we did not venture inside the structure.

While some other Japanese haikyo sites said the grounds looked mowed and maintained in July 2022, when we went the grass was unwieldy with foundational remains poking out.

The Japanese haikyo blogs also wrote that the windows on the second and third floors were still glazed a few years ago, but it seems that they have since been removed.

The only sign someone was maintaining the building was this strangely new looking window on the second floor. Most of all the other window spaces were without frames or glass, and those that did remain were in various stages of damage.

Since it was raining, we didn’t go around the back, but apparently there is a park with a small playground there.

Getting to Tsuchiura Black Mansion

Tsuchiura Black Mansion can be reached on foot from JR Tsuchiura Station in around 15 minutes. To get to Tsuchiura Station from central Tokyo, take the Hitachi/Tokiwa Limited Express from Tokyo or Ueno stations. The journey time is around 50 minutes. Alternatively, if you have time to spare and want to save some yennies, you can take the Ueno-Tokyo Line from the same two stations. The journey in this case will take around 75 mins.

Address: 茨城県土浦市小松1丁目38-9
Komatsu 1-38-9, Tsuchiura-shi, Ibaraki Prefecture

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