Stairway to Sterile & Creepy Housing Development

The map on my phone showed an indoor heated swimming pool about a 15-minute walk from the workation house (see previous post) I was staying at. As I followed the map, it showed that the pool was on an elevated plateau off of Route 134 on the west coast of Miura Peninsula.

So, I arrive at these crazy-ass stairs and start huffing and puffing my way up them. About halfway up I notice for the first time a woman behind me charging up the stairs like a champ. I get to the top just moments ahead of her and step onto this view…

Of a row of new houses on a plateau.

Not shown in this photo is a school (elementary or junior high) that was here before these houses and this whole development. The pool building, also not shown, is modern and clean so I assume it was built around the same time as these houses.

Wide roads with sidewalks and houses with decent space between them for Japan in a neighborhood that resembles places I’ve seen in California or Australia.

Clean and shiny but devoid of life energy. A neat place to find in Japan but definitely discomforting.