Hashima, Japan
Battleship Island, an abandonded place with undersea coal mines
May 13, 2019
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Battleship Island
From the sea, Hashima looks like a warship. Dense concrete apartment blocks on a tiny island, built to house coal miners working undersea. At its peak, 5000 people lived here on 16 acres.
The island was continuously inhabited from 1887 onwards with the sole purpose to mine coal. It housed more than 5250 people around its peak in 1959. The mine was closed in 1974 and the island has been abandoned ever since.
Abandoned concrete
The mines closed in 1974. Everyone left within months. Buildings collapse slowly now — concrete erodes, walls crack, vegetation creeps through windows. Nature reclaims what humans abandoned.
To support the workers, apartment blocks were built, along with a hospital, community centre and schools for their families. They've built a cinema, a swimming pool and rooftop gardens.
Industrial decay
Rusted machinery, collapsed roofs, crumbling staircases. Everything deteriorates in the salt air. Japan protects the island now as industrial heritage, though it continues falling apart.