Hiroshima Attractions - Ōkunojima Rabbit Island
Okunoshima should be a holy land in the minds of many rabbit slaves, at least that’s what I saw and felt during this trip. Even though it is an isolated island, the transportation is not convenient, and the crowds of pilgrims still rush to it.
Okunoshima is one of the many islands in the Seto Inland Sea of Hiroshima. It is about 3 kilometers offshore from Tadami Town, Takehara City. This place is a small and remote fishing port and is known as the "island that disappeared from the map". To get here, in addition to driving like we did, use the "Kansai Metropolitan Railway PASS" to take the Shinkansen to Okayama/Hiroshima, then transfer to the Kure Line train from Mihara and get off at Tadakai Station
Zhonghai Port is a very secluded small fishing port. Many tourists like us are waiting for the boat here at 10:30 in the morning. When boarding the boat, you can board the boat and find your own seat by showing your ticket. Sitting outside is comfortable but there is a smell of oil smoke. .
Kunoshima was the site of Japan's chemical weapons/poison gas factory during World War II. Rabbits were indeed used for experiments at that time. However, all the experimental rabbits were culled and destroyed after the war, leaving it as an uninhabited island for a while. Later, a national holiday was established. village.
8 rabbits were also introduced from outside the island. Unexpectedly, they multiplied quickly and there were hundreds of rabbits running around on the island. However, I only saw about 200 rabbits after walking half of the island. It seems that rabbits are all over the island.
Almost 100,000 tourists visit the island every year to see rabbits, and it is now designated as part of the Seto Inland Sea National Park. However, in fact, the facilities on the entire island are quite beautiful, almost maintaining most of their original state.
Except for the Poison Gas Memorial Hall, the Visitor Center and the National Leisure Village, it is basically green forests and sandy areas. The coastline is about 4.3 kilometers long. There are actually very few tourists like us who walked through 1/2 of the island (we stayed here for 4 hours).
First of all, as soon as you get on the island, you will find the visitor center and a very big tree. Almost 1/3 of the rabbits on the island will hide here. They are also very smart and know that tourists will arrive directly here when they get off the boat, so they will all jump in when they see tourists. Come up!
However, although many people come to see the rabbits, very few go to the forest at the back. In fact, the rabbits in the back are hungrier, because most of the tourists have finished feeding the food in front, and there are very few tourists who go to the back. , so the rabbits behind you will jump out from everywhere when they hear the sound of someone's footsteps and bags. If they are hungry, they will jump on you XD and keep running with you. It is recommended that you try half/one circle around the island.
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There will be a pavilion at any time where you can relax and enjoy the sea view. It is a good place to get along with nature. It's a pity that the road to and from the observatory was blocked this time, so I couldn't climb up to get a bird's eye view of the entire island.
Before heading to "Okunoshima", we strongly recommend that you buy rabbit food first
Because as long as you have food, you can become the rabbit king of the island. Wherever you go, rabbits will jump around and surround you.
The most recommended food for rabbits is cabbage. It’s very cheap to buy one in the supermarket and you can peel it by hand. If you buy carrots, you have to cut them into small strips, which is more troublesome for tourists.
And another advantage of cabbage is that you can feed it with your hands, so you don’t have to worry about being bitten, and you can also seize the time to take a close-up photo of the rabbit.