Oda is a small rural town tucked away in the mountains off the narrow, twisting roads of Uchiko, Japan, roughly an hour away from Matsuyama. A town that has very little to offer its residents as a result of the depopulation issues. I meandered throughout Oda in search of day to day scenarios such as empty classrooms, abandoned places, local people and elements of the past working with an iPhone. These images are a glimpse into the quiet and desolate land of Oda.
In the past 10 years the population has decreased significantly causing problems in education, social services and many other areas. Local governments are concerned about maintaing and stabilizing people's lives in local communities. Most people who reside in Oda are older residence who has lived there all their lives. Due to the economic stagnation many local businesses, schools and homes are often a place of desertion. Depopulation in rural areas of Japan has been an issue for years. In Oda, the problem is steadily worsening while an aged population continues to grow older and a steady outflow of young people migrate to the bigger cities such as Matsuyama, Osaka, and Tokyo in search of more opportunity.
