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Ōkunoshima (大久野島)

Okunojima is an uninhabited island located about 15 minutes by ferry from Omishima Island, one of the islands on the Shimanami Kaido, and from Tadanoumi Port, a short distance from JR Tadanoumi Station. Okunojima has long been famous as the “Rabbit Island,” with about 900 wild rabbits living on the island. Okunojima is also known as the island where the former Japanese Army secretly conducted poison gas experiments during World War II, and the island is dotted with facilities such as the Poison Gas Museum.

Moment of Joy

The main attraction of Okunojima is the population of 900 wild rabbits that live on the island. Carrots and cabbages are sold at a convenience store near JR Tadanoumi Station, the entrance to Okunojima, and you can feed the rabbits at your leisure. In addition, the former Japanese military poison gas experimental facilities scattered around the back of the island, many of which have become mossy and abandoned, are attracting the attention of ruin enthusiasts and Ghibli anime fans, who say they look like Laputa. As for the effects of the poisonous gas on the human body, it is possible to walk around the area except for the off-limits areas surrounded by wire fences.