My Blog

Off the westernmost coast of Japan, is an island called 'Gunkanjima' that is hardly known even to the Japanese. Long ago, the island was nothing more than a small reef.

Then in 1810, people came to live here to make a living as coal miners. The Gunkanjima's reef had grown into an artificial island of one kilometer in perimeter, with a population of 5300. Looming above the ocean, it appeared a concrete labyrinth of many-storied apartment houses and mining structures built closely together.

Seen from the ocean, the silhouette of the island closely resembled a battleship – so, the island came to be called Gunkanjima, or Battleship Island.

The island is increasingly gaining international attention not only as one of the modern international heritages in the region, but also as the housing complex remnants in the years from Taisho Era to Showa Era. Moreover, the island has become the frequent subject of a discussion among enthusiasts for ruins.

Since the abandoned island has not been maintained, several buildings have already collapsed. Other existing buildings are subject to breakage. In this regard, however, certain collapsed exterior walls have been restored with concrete. While the island was owned by Mitsubishi Material up until 2002, it was voluntarily transferred to Takashima town. Currently, Nagasaki City possesses the island. A small portion of the island was re-opened for tourism on April 22nd, 2009. A full reopening of the island would require an enormous amount of money to make the premises safe, due to the aging of the buildings.

On August 23, 2005, landing was permitted to journalists only. The scene of the ruined locations on the island was broadcast in the media. Originally, Nagasaki City planned restoration of a pier, which was actually used in the past, for the prospective tourist landing in April 2008. In addition, a 220-meter-long visitor walkway was planned (Entrance to unsafe building areas is to be prohibited).

Due to the delay in development construction, however, in the end of 2007, the city announced that public access was delayed for approximately one year up until this year (2009).