Okunoshima

Okunoshima is a duality wrapped in cuteness — an island overrun by hundreds of wild rabbits that have lost all fear of humans, yet burdened by the weight of a brutal secret. During the Second World War, the Imperial Army operated a clandestine poison gas production facility here, removed from all maps and kept from public knowledge until well after the war. The factory closed in 1945; the rabbits arrived later, reportedly released from a laboratory, and have thrived in the absence of predators ever since.

Today, visitors arrive to find rabbits everywhere — clustering at the dock, hoppling through the scrub grass, nesting in the ruins of the old factory buildings. The juxtaposition is intentional or accidental, impossible to say — but it creates an unsettling atmosphere. The Poison Gas Museum documents the factory’s operations and the 2,248 workers who died producing mustard gas. The power plant and factory buildings remain, graffitied and decaying, threading through the rabbit warrens.

The experience is less cheerful tourist destination than it is a meditation on how nature reclaims even the most sinister human engineering. Arrive early; the early ferry is less crowded. Bring rabbit food. Allow 2-3 hours.

The poison gas factory operated from 1929 to 1945 and produced more than 6,000 tons of mustard gas and other chemical weapons, which were deployed against Chinese forces during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The island was deliberately erased from maps and kept secret; its existence wasn’t officially acknowledged until 1984. In 1988, the small Poison Gas Museum was opened — just two rooms covering construction of the plant, working conditions, and the effects of chemical weapons on the human body. Admission is ¥150 for adults, free for those under 18. Open generally 9:00-16:00.

Access: from Hiroshima, take the JR Kure Line to Tadanoumi Station (about 1 hour from Hiroshima, ¥570), then a 7-minute walk to Tadanoumi Port, then a 15-minute ferry to the island. Ferry frequency varies by season; check timetables. Rabbit pellets are sold at the port shop before boarding — buy them there. The island has a small circumference of about 4.3 km, easily circled on foot in an hour, and has a hotel (休暇村大久野島) if you want to stay overnight.