Beautiful Dystopia: Battleship Island

Beautiful Dystopia: Battleship Island

Off the coast of Nagasaki, Japan sits the abandoned island known as Hashima Island, or Gunkanjima, aka Battleship Island. The island was once known for its undersea coal mines, which were the core of the country's start to industrialization. Not only did it serve as the foreground of industry and opportunity, but it also served as home to many people who worked in the buildings, who also had homes on the island. In 1959, it had a population of over 5,200 people. Over the next fifteen years, the people of the island worked hard at the coal mines, but by the time 1974 came around, the mines had been depleted. With the mines depleted, it officially closed, and since there was no need for any more work, the residents departed and moved on. The island then became abandoned for over three decades.

Today, the island is known for its abundance of abandoned concrete buildings, which have been undisturbed by nature. In the early 2000s, an interest in the island picked up for its historical ruins, and eventually it became a tourist attraction. When it officially opened up to tourists in 2009, additional ideas gained traction to have it preserved and protected due to its history in Japan’s industrial era. The island was owned by Mitsubishi up until 2002, but now Nagasaki City, the city in which it is located, owns it. Today, the city is busy keeping the island going by ongoing construction, issuing permits to journalists, and keeping the place running as a tourist attraction. However, there are several times in which the city has restrictions that prevent people from traveling there, such as safety concerns, harsh weather climates, and city ordinances.

These days, the island also serves as a place where many films and documentaries have been filmed, as well as the inspiration behind video game levels and music videos. The James Bond film, Skyfall, shot a few scenes there as well as Attack on Titan, and a Thai horror film called Hashima Project. A Japanese rock band filmed a video there for a song, and the island is featured as a place in the Nintendo video game, Splatoon. It is a featured destination and location in the comic series Atomic Robo, and in an article by CNN, it was listed as one of the 10 most freakiest places in the world. Battleship Island has a long history, but the best part about it today is that, despite being abandoned for so long, it has found new life and new use, and it's appreciated today like it was all those years ago during its origins as a coal mine mecca.

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