Giant Robot Store and GR2 News

A few weeks ago, we reported on the gigantic Gulliver statue in the abandoned theme park near Mount Fuji in Japan. The Japanese have a fondness, or at least a fascination, for famous icons of literature and film from Western culture. This time, the story is about an old, beat-up and abandoned version of American movie legend John Wayne. At the link, you’ll see numerous photographs by an English-American photographer documenting the sad state of affairs at Western Village in Tochigi, Japan, an amusement park ruin (or haikyo) abandoned since 2007. An animatronic robot version of The Duke, with his shirt pulled open and his electronic innards exposed, is apparently one of the bigger attractions for the haikyo explorers who’ve been prowling the defunct park since it closed. Oh, and make sure you explore all the material compiled on Western Village at the link, because it apparently used to feature a $29 million replica of Mount Rushmore (Michealjohngrist.com – Abandoned John Wayne)
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