Hashima Island

Commonly called Gunkanjima, this island is one among 505 uninhabited islands in Nagasaki Prefecture. The island was populated from 1887 to 1974 as a coal mining facility. As petroleum replaced coal in Japan in the 1960s, coal mines began shutting down all over the country, and Hashima’s mines were no exception. The mine closed in 1974 and the island became uninhabited. Travel to Hashima for tourists purposes was re-opened in 2009