Long a favorite of our Extremes of Japan Tour Ōkunoshima or as it is colloquially known “Rabbit Island” is that perfect mix of cute Japan and seriously and I mean seriously messed up.
How though do you go here, what is its very dark history and why the hell are there so many bloody rabbits? This is our Ōkunoshima Guide.
Table of Contents
The dark history of Rabbit Island
Before it was selfie central for rabbit obsessives Ōkunoshima was wiped off the map. Literally. During the 1930s and throughout the Second World War the Imperial Japanese Army used the island as a secret chemical weapons production site. Mustard gas and other agents were manufactured here in facilities deliberately hidden from international observers. Workers handled toxic materials often with minimal protection and many suffered long term health consequences.
After Japan’s defeat the facilities were dismantled and large quantities of chemical weapons were destroyed. For years the island sat largely abandoned. Today you can still see the crumbling concrete shells of former storage buildings and production halls scattered through the forest. There is also a small Poison Gas Museum detailing what happened here. It is not huge, but it does enough to remind you that beneath the cute exterior this place has a genuinely dark past.
Getting to Rabbit Island
While Rabbit Island falls under the prefecture of Hiroshima, the island itself is pretty much out in the boonies and is at best a day trip and at worst an overnight venture.
From Hiroshima Station take the JR Sanyo Line to Mihara, then change to the JR Kure Line for Tadanoumi Station. The full journey takes roughly 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours depending on connections. If you are using a JR Pass this is fully covered. Without a pass you are looking at around 1,500 to 2,000 Yen each way, which is roughly 10 to 14 USD depending on the rate.
From Tadanoumi Station it is about a five minute walk to Tadanoumi Port. Ferries run regularly throughout the day and take about 15 minutes to reach Ōkunoshima. The ferry costs around 360 Yen one way, about 2 to 3 USD. Miss the last ferry and you are staying the night whether you planned to or not.
Note there are quite literally no hotels at all in Mihari, or Tadanoumi, with the few AirBnB’s being the only options if you want to stay. There is a hotel on the island itself, but it fills up quick, particularly on the weekends.
What is there to do on Rabbit Island?
First and foremost you walk. The island is small enough to circle in a couple of hours either on foot or by renting a bicycle. Along the way you will stumble across abandoned poison gas buildings, tunnels and storage bunkers slowly being reclaimed by nature.
You visit the Poison Gas Museum to get some context. It is not massive, but it explains the island’s wartime role and the human cost.
There is a hotel on the island, Kyukamura Ōkunoshima, which offers rooms, a restaurant and even an onsen. Staying overnight means you get the rabbits to yourself once the day trippers leave.
And then of course there are the rabbits. They are everywhere. They will run at you if they hear a plastic bag. Bring proper rabbit pellets bought before you arrive as there are no convenience stores on the island. Do not feed them random junk.
Is it worth visiting Ōkunoshima?
As I stated in my opening gambit Rabbit Island is the kind of place that could only exist in Japan. The past here is dark and the remnants are still there, but they have managed to turn it into a cutesy day out for all the family. There is merch, rabbit themed cafes and Ōkunoshima Island is quite literally stunningly beautiful. The water is pristine and they have beaches that I am sure people use in the summer.
This of course is without even mentioning the primary draw here, the bloody rabbits, which have obviously been breeding like rabbits as they are everywhere. And they are super cute and very friendly, particularly if you plan to feed them.
This though pretty much answers the should you visit Rabbit Island question, because if you do not like rabbits it is a bloody long way to come for a hike. If you do like them and you appreciate a bit of dark history with your cute overload, then Ōkunoshima absolutely delivers.
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