This Once-Populated Japanese Island is Now Isolated, Here’s Why
Right off the coast of Nagasaki, there’s an island made almost entirely of concrete. It’s called Hashima, though most people know it as Gunkanjima, or Battleship Island. For decades, it stood at the center of Japan’s industrial growth. Today, it stands abandoned, with its buildings collapsing under salt wind and time.
Coal Mining Turned It into a City
Image via Wikimedia Commons/Hisagi (氷鷺)
For years, Hashima was just a small island off Nagasaki’s coast, occasionally used by local fishermen. That changed in the late 1800s when the island’s coal deposits caught serious attention. Mitsubishi, a major Japanese trading and industrial firm, bought the island in 1890. It extended the island’s surface with concrete barriers, dug mine shafts that reached over a kilometer underground, and constructed high-rise apartment blocks to house miners and their families.
By 1959, more than 5,200 people lived on just 16 acres, and made it the most densely populated place ever recorded. Despite the limited space, daily life was supported by a full range of infrastructure. Schools, clinics, a hospital, a cinema, a rooftop garden, and other shared facilities were all contained within the island’s reinforced perimeter.
Daily Life Was Dense and Difficult
While Mitsubishi helped modernize life on the island, conditions remained difficult. Living spaces were small and packed into tall concrete blocks. The air was also thick with coal dust, and humidity often hovered near 95 percent. Narrow alleys and steep staircases made even basic movement around the island exhausting and earned nicknames like the “stairway to hell.”
Coal Decline Led to a Sudden Exit
Image via Wikimedia Commons/Σ64
In the early 1970s, Japan shifted its energy strategy away from coal. Mitsubishi announced the closure of the mine in 1974, and residents started to make quick exits. The evacuation was so fast that many personal belongings were left behind. Furniture, clothing, school materials, and household electronics still remain inside the deteriorating buildings.
However, the Japanese corporation retained ownership of the island until 2001, when it was transferred to the city of Takashima and later merged into Nagasaki. The site stayed closed to the public until 2009, as limited tours began under strict safety regulations.
Visitors Can Now See Part of the Ruins
Image via Wikimedia Commons/Jordy Meow
Today, only about five percent of Hashima is open to tourists. Visitors must join guided tours, wear helmets, and follow designated walking paths. Most tours last three hours, including ferry travel and about one hour on the island. Tickets cost between ¥3,600 and ¥4,200, with the city collecting an additional landing fee.
Key sights include Building No. 65, the tallest residential structure on the island, and Building No. 70, which housed classrooms and a gym. Tour companies also point out remnants of the hospital, grocery stores, and the elementary school. The buildings show clear signs of decay, but their structure still reveals how life was once organized on the island.
Gunkanjima has appeared in films such as Skyfall and Attack on Titan, which helped renew interest in the site. More recently, organizers announced a film festival to highlight the island’s cultural and visual impact.