A small island of 0.7 km² in the Seto Inland Sea, with more rabbits than residents. It stays quiet only because everyone who lands here keeps a few simple rules — please read them before you come.
The island at a glance
Location
Takehara, Hiroshima — Seto Inland Sea national park
Access
Ferry from Tadanoumi (Takehara) or Ōmishima
Size
0.7 km² ・ 4.3 km of coastline ・ highest point 108 m
Rabbits
Around 500 wild rabbits, descendants of a few released by a local school in the early 1970s; the island has no predators
History
A secret Army poison-gas plant from 1929 to 1945, once left off maps; the Poison Gas Museum opened in 1988
On island
Kyuqamura resort, Poison Gas Museum and visitor centre; no private vehicles on the island
Island rules
1Please do not chase or pick up the rabbits. They are wild, they are easily stressed, and they are the reason you came.
2Please feed the rabbits nothing at all. They find plenty on the island, and food from your bag makes them sick.
3No dogs, no cats, and never harm a rabbit — hunting has been forbidden on the island since it became a park.
4Stay out of the cordoned-off ruins. The old factory and fort buildings are condemned and the ground around them is still dangerous.
5Take everything you brought back with you. There is no rubbish collection here, and even the water comes to the island by ship.