Island Of Fluffy Bunnies In Okunoshima, Japan
Okunoshima is a tiny island that can be found in the Inland Sea of Japan between Hiroshima and Shikoku. In the World War II era, this island used to be a very confidential military site producing poison gas for chemical warfare. Nowadays, you can find adorable fluffy bunnies all over the island and they're the main inhabitants of this island. Between the years 1929 and 1945, Okunoshima Island was used to produce and provide poison gas for the Imperial Japanese Army, and it's believed that more than six kilotons of mustard gas were manufactured. The island was suitable for this job mainly because of its isolated location, so it was a secure place, and also it was far enough from Tokyo and other areas in case of disaster. The program was conducted in secret and when it had been active for 16 years, Okunoshima was even erased from maps. The people who were living on the island and potential workers weren't told what the plant was producing and everything was very confidential.
When the war ended, documents about the plant were burned and Allied Occupation Forces got rid of the gas either by dumping, burning, or burying it, and people were told to keep their mouths shut about the whole thing.
Some sources state that the rabbits were brought to the island to test the effects of the poison and released by employees when World War II ended. Other sources say that a bunch of schoolchildren were on a field trip and they decided to release eight bunnies in 1971.
No matter how they ended up on the island, the bunnies are living their best lives in Okunoshima now in a predator-free environment. As of now, there are more than 300 rabbits in the 700,000 square meter island and they wander around as much as they like.
The island is also known as "Usagi Shima", Rabbit Island. These are wild rabbits, but they are used to be around people and they will approach visitors expecting snacks from them, and jump onto their laps.
Visitors can pet and feed the animals if they want to, but they're not allowed to bring their dogs and cats since the authorities are trying to preserve the bunny population. Kyukamura Okunoshima resort hotel on the island is selling pellets of rabbit food for 100JPY a cup. The hotel is swarming with visitors in recent years since the island has become viral on the internet.
Even though a lot of people come to this island to see the bunnies, Rabbit Island still has a history with poison gas. There's a Poison Gas Museum on the island that was opened in 1988 in order to inform as many people as possible about the poison gas and its harmful effects.
Some people think the island might not be totally safe since there has never been any major decontamination of the entire island. There are rumors stating that there are a number of sealed places on the island where employees reportedly buried gas after the war.
