Vault of an Investment Bank that went Bankrupt in 1997

Sanyo Securities Company Limited was a Japanese investment bank founded in 1910 that at the end of the 80s was one of the largest banks in the country. When the bubble burst it became insolvent and ended up declaring bankruptcy in 1997; by 1999 all its operations had finished. In the boom times Sanyo Securities had its own leisure resort that could be used by its almost 5,000 employees to spend their holidays next to Lake Yamanaka. It was a hotel only used by employees.

After taking photos of the abandoned house and eating a good steak in a restaurant next to the lake we arrive with our car to the entrance of the leisure resort for Sanyo Securities employees. It has been abandoned for more than 10 years and it’s the only thing left from the company; the office building that they had in Tokyo is now being used by Sumitomo.

Behind the main building we can see the entrance to what was one of the main vaults of the investment bank, most likely it was used to keep gold. We are a little bit scared but here we go!

We arrive until the end of the hallway. Even though the floor is slippery, it’s quite easy to move around. A good amount of light enters through a skylight. We turn to the left and we see the first door of the bank vault. It’s closed and it looks very heavy but it’s easy to open. After this first door everything is pitch black; my instinct tells me that we shouldn’t keep going but Carlos, the bravest of us, starts walking using his iPhone to light up the way.

Inside there is a big door that gives access to what seems to be the main vault. In the wall there are several symbols (logos) of Sanyo Securities. For some reason… none of us is brave enough to enter the room but we take some photos from the entrance.

Another one for the Sadako photo series.