There are many wonderful places in our world. Rabbit Island is one of these wonderful places.
Today it is an abandoned uninhabited island. In today's episode, we will
explore the amazing and secluded Rabbit Island that is home to hundreds of Rabbits Island.
The Original name of this island is Ōkunoshima. It is a small island in the Inland Sea of Japan.
It is considered to be part of the city of Takehara, Hiroshima Prefecture.
It is accessible by ferry from Tadanoumi and Ōmishima. There are campsites, walking trails,
and places of historical interest on the island. Ōkunoshima played a key role during World War II
as a poison gas factory for much of the chemical warfare that was carried out in China.
The island was a cultivated area until the Russo-Japanese War when ten
forts were built to protect it. Three fishing families lived on the island.
A chemical munitions plant was built on the island between 1927 and 1929 and was home to a chemical
weapons facility that would go on to produce over six kilotons of mustard gas and tear gas.
The island currently has a large population of rabbits.
Many of them are descended from rabbits when the island was developed as a park after World War II.
During the war, rabbits were also used in chemical weapons plants and used to test
the effectiveness of chemical weapons, but those rabbits were euthanized or killed when
the factory was dismantled. They are not related to the rabbits currently living on the island.
Hunting the rabbits is forbidden, and dogs and cats are not allowed on the island.
The ruins of the old forts and the gas factory still exist all over the island, but entry is
prohibited as it is too dangerous. Since it is part of the Inland Sea National Park system of
Japan, there is a resource center and a museum. The Poison Gas Museum was opened in 1988 and "was
established in order to alert as many people as possible to the dreadful truths about poison gas.
The small museum is only two rooms large and provides a basic overview of the construction
of the chemical plant, working conditions, and the effects of poison gas on humans.
Most of the buildings are run-down and condemned, but still recognizable.
The museum is aimed primarily at Japanese tourists,
but English translations are provided in the overall summary for each section.