The Poison Gas Island

The Okunoshima Island located offshore of Hiroshima prefecture is not even listed on a map. It was previously known as a Poison Gas Island due to the chemical munitions plant built back in WWII. Despite of its past, the island is now called a Rabbit Island. This island, once known by many urban explorers, is now family friendly spot to learn its history, take in the beautiful view of the surrounding beaches, and play with the rabbits.

大久野島は、広島県の沖合に位置する島。日本の地図には表記されていない島です。別名毒ガス島とも呼ばれ、毒ガス生産施設があった場所です。しかし、現在は”ウサギ島”と呼ばれ、ウサギが大繁殖しています。廃墟がある島としてUrbex愛好家に知られていた場所は、今では観光地として認識され、 美しい海、歴史を学び、ウサギで癒される島になりました。

A Little History
In 1929, Japanese government designated this island to become the top secret poison gas factory. Numerous chemical weapons were built, exported and used, including Mustard Gas, during WWII and Sino-Japanese War. After the defeat, factory was closed down and destroyed.
1929年に日本政府は毒ガス生産施設を建設し、マスタードガスを中心とした化学兵器の生産を秘密裏に行っていました。ガスや薬品は北九州に輸出され、その化学兵器の多くは、第二次世界大戦、日中戦争で使用されました。日本の敗戦後、施設は閉鎖。施設は破壊されました。

Rabbits Island
The island became a perfect holiday resort for the bunnies after the shutdown of a factory. There are two versions to the story of how these rabbits came about. Here’s the first version: The rabbits you see today are the offspring of rabbits that were used as an experiment to test the ability of manufactured gasses. Here’s the second: The rabbits originally brought to the island to be tested were killed when the factory shut down. The herds of rabbits you see today were set free by the elementary school near the island. Whichever is true, the island is now packed with over 700 rabbits, and they will willingly come up to travelers for food. KAWAII IS JUSTICE.

たくさんのウサギがこの島に生息しています。施設の実験で飼いならされたウサギの子孫が繁殖し、現在300匹以上いるそうです。おそるべきウサギの侵攻！フェリーから降りてくる観光客を囲み餌をねだります。かわいいは正義。

Poison Gas Storage Facility
Storage facility created on the slope of a hill fronting the sea looks like a beautiful historic ruin, but knowing that this was chemical weapons storage gives me chills. It’s definitely a beautiful abandoned building, but we shouldn’t forget its dark history.

丘の斜面をくりぬいて作られた貯蔵施設。海に面した絶好のロケーションにあり、巨大な遺跡のような圧巻の姿。しかし、毒ガスを貯めておく巨大なタンクがあったと知れば誰もがゾッとしてしまう。廃墟としては十分に美しく価値がありますが、その裏で暗い歴史があったことも忘れてはいけないことですね。

The power plant
The power plant was built for manufacturing gasses back in the day. Life finds a way even on this bare concrete of an abandoned building. Inside the building was cool even though it was summer time. It’s impressive to see this enormous building completely empty.

発電所はガス生産のために電力供給を行っていた場所です。無機質なコンクリートの外壁に蔦がびっしり。内部は夏場なのにひんやり。がらんとした巨大な空間とたくさんの窓には圧巻です。