Explore on a landing tour! Maritime World Heritage Site “Gunkanjima”

Gunkanjima floating 18.5km off the coast of Nagasaki Port. This is a small island that was registered as a World Cultural Heritage Site in 2015 (Heisei 27) as one of the constituent assets of the "Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel Manufacturing, Shipbuilding, and Coal Industries."
High-quality coal was discovered during the Edo period, and full-scale mining began in 1890 (Meiji 23) when it was acquired by Mitsubishi. The island, which was just a rocky reef, was expanded with a sea wall and reclaimed land. Lined with reinforced concrete buildings, it quickly became an artificial island. It came to be called "Gunkanjima" because its overall view resembles the "Gunkan Tosa" built at the Nagasaki Shipyard.

At its peak, approximately 5300 people lived on Gunkanjima. Electrical appliances, which were said to be the three sacred treasures at the time, spread rapidly, and the nationwide penetration rate of televisions was only about 10% at the time, but on Gunkanjima it was 100%. There were entertainment facilities such as movie theaters and pachinko parlors, and mine workers' salaries were said to be 1.5 to 2 times the average salary of civil servants, indicating that they lived a wealthy life.
After that, the energy revolution led to the decline of the coal industry. Gunkanjima closed in January 1974, and became an uninhabited island just three months later. Abandoned reinforced concrete apartment buildings and former coal mine production sites remain on the island, quietly conveying signs of life in the past and the history of Japan's modernization.

In order to land on Gunkanjima, you must participate in a guided tour organized by each shipping company. A total of five companies are currently permitted to conduct landing tours. Both flights operate twice a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
In addition to landing on Gunkanjima, there are also tours that include fun things other than landing, such as a sea excursion where you can take a close look at Gunkanjima from a boat, and landing on Takashima, which is connected to Gunkanjima. Even if you are unable to land on the island, you can still enjoy the charm of Gunkanjima and have a fulfilling time.

Click here for 5 companies offering Gunkanjima landing tours

Check each company's website for boat specifications and tour details. Advance reservations are required for both.
*Standards have been established to ensure safety when landing on the island, such as the wave height being within 0.5m and the wind speed being within 5m/s.If these conditions are not met, landing will not be possible.

■Yamasa Shipping
https://www.yamasa-kaiun.net/
■Gunkanjima Concierge
https://www.gunkanjima-concierge.com/
■Takashima Marine Transportation
https://www.gunkanjima-cruise.jp/
■Seaman Shokai
https://www.gunkanjima-tour.jp/
■7th Ebisumaru
http://www.7ebisumaru.com/

During the approximately 40-minute journey to Gunkanjima, your guide will explain about the eight World Heritage Sites in the area. Some of them can be viewed from a boat, and you can learn about modernization since the Meiji era and the history of Nagasaki.

The first World Heritage Site you see after setting sail is the Giant Cantilever Crane. It has a lifting capacity of 150 tons and has been in active use for about 110 years. "Mitsubishi Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works Third Dock" is also a World Heritage Site that is still in use. When it was completed in 1905 (Meiji 38), it was known as the best dock in the East. You can also see the Kaminoshima Church, which was built after the ban on Christianity was lifted, and the 4.7m tall statue of the Virgin Mary, which is said to have been a hiding place for Christians in the early Edo period, from the boat.

When you get close to Gunkanjima, you will first go on a tour to see the exteriors of the buildings in the restricted area from the boat.
Hashima Elementary and Junior High School has large windows so that the children can soak up the sun, and since it is located along the coast, you can clearly see the scenery. At the back of the school is Building 313, the largest mammoth apartment building on the island, where 65 families lived at the time. Continuing to the west, you will find Building 48, which is said to have had a pachinko parlor in the basement, and Buildings 18 and 19, where an ``Blue Sky Farm'' was built on the roof for children who didn't know anything about plants. The buildings in these residential areas can only be seen during excursions at sea.
After going around it, you can move to the west coast where it looks most like a warship and enjoy some photo time.

After confirming the safety standards for docking, we landed on Gunkanjima from Dolphin Pier, the only pier. Visit three attractions with your guide.
First, we headed to the first observation point while admiring the ruined buildings in front of us. Tour of production facilities such as a coal storage yard and the remains of facilities related to the second shaft, which was the main mine. Conveyor belt supports and collapsed buildings make for a spectacular view. You can also see Building 1 on top of the hill where executives lived.

On the way from the first observation point to the second observation point, you can see up close the Amakawa Seawall, which is the core of the World Heritage Site.
The stone masonry method created during the Meiji period creates a unique landscape of Gunkanjima. At the second observation point, you will see the remains of a red brick winding platform where a hoist was installed to raise and lower cages into the coal mine, as well as the ruins of a red brick general office that was said to have been the center of the coal mine.

The main attraction is Building 30, which will take your breath away as it looks like it's about to collapse at any moment. Built in 1916 (Taisho 5), this is Japan's oldest reinforced concrete high-rise apartment building, and can be viewed from the 3rd observation point.
It was a six-story building with an open ceiling in the shape of a square, and was said to have a modern design at the time. Building 6 has already exceeded its estimated life expectancy and is said to be in a state where it could collapse at any time. Opposite it is the ruins of a pool that was a place for islanders to relax. Swimming in the sea was prohibited on Gunkanjima, so it is surprising that they used a pool made of seawater.