Japan

You probably are unfamiliar with the name Okunoshima, but if someone mentions its nickname, you’re almost certain to know where they’re talking about. After all, who hasn’t heard of Rabbit Island? Rabbit Island, so named for the hordes of rabbits that run wild, is the main attraction for this increasingly popular tourist destination. Rabbit Island is located in the Inland Sea and is easily accessible from Hiroshima and Omishima Island on the Shimanami Kaido. It’s a wonderful day trip for locals, but a hotel on the island now means it’s easy to stay a little longer if you don’t feel like rushing back to city life right away and want to spend more time with the locals. The rabbits make this place a fun, family-friendly outing, but it wasn’t always this way. The whole island is shrouded in more than a bit of mystery due to its past. Historical records show that the island was home to a poison gas factory owned and operated by the Japanese Imperial Army between 1929 and 1945. The factory produced five different types of gases during this time. The island was so secret that The Army even removed it from maps during the era…