Kyushu 2023 - Nagasaki Exploring Gunkanjima/Hashima Part 1

 

Well well well, it was our lucky day! Not only did we managed to get the last two seats on board Jupiter to sail here, but the weather was good enough for us to land on the island itself! I was so excited! Slowly, we were allowed to disembark from the boat and on to the very small rocky jetty to wait at the empty space for our guide to join us.

Yes, this is a UNESCO site. And even if it wasn't, I would still want to visit it. I've seen it featured in some of the Youtube clips before, and it was sooooo cool. Anyway, here is an official info for you to learn a bit more about the island.

Up close, the island did not disappoint. Large area of abandon concrete building, like ruins, but modern ruins. Almost an abandon waste land. Is this what our future would look like when it ends?

The island was not that big, but not that small. We weren't allowed to wander around as we pleased. We had to follow our guide, and there were only designated areas that we could visit. In fact, the tour boats that are allowed to land on the island are also controlled to avoid overcrowding, as well as to preserved this waste land.

Although I took a lot of photos, after a while, it does kinda looked like any construction site you will find. Especially in Malaysia where the construction has been abandon due to financial issues.

You could't get closed to the buildings, as the walk way was just a distance from it.

It was quite a cool place to walk around in. And many people walked as slow as possible to soak everything in. I am thinking to myself, Japan has got to be the coolest country to visit. They seriously have EVERYTHING!

At every designated stopping point, the guide (the guy in pink) would explained to us a little bit about the history and how people used to live here. He actually has a lot of photos with him, and he would show them to us as he tell his stories. The tour was only in Japanese, but the photos does convey the message too. So even if you can't understand, just go and observe!

The crowds from our boat. There was another tour group on the island too. But all in all, it was not too crowded and was a pleasant walk.