Okunoshima (Rabbit Island)
大久野島
A small island in the Seto Inland Sea home to hundreds of wild rabbits, with ruins of a wartime poison gas factory and a poison gas museum.
Okunoshima is about 4 km around, and hundreds of released rabbits come swarming toward visitors as soon as they land, which is why it is called Rabbit Island. Its history is darker. From 1929 to 1945, the Imperial Japanese Army secretly produced poison gas here. The island still has the ruins of a power station and gun emplacements. The Poison Gas Museum (about ¥150) explains this history and the harm it caused, including to China and other places. A ferry takes about 15 minutes from Tadanoumi Port, next to JR Tadanoumi Station. From Hiroshima, the trip takes about 2 hours one way. Visitors may feed only vegetables or rabbit food, and holding rabbits or bringing pets onto the island is prohibited. The island has a national holiday village where visitors can stay overnight.
Opening hours
ferries approx. 07:00–19:00
Nearby sights
- Takehara Historic District
- Saijo Sake Brewery Street
- Yamato Museum
- JMSDF Kure Museum (Iron Whale Museum)
- Mazda Museum
- MAZDA Zoom-Zoom Stadium Hiroshima
- Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art
- World Peace Memorial Cathedral