Forbidden Battleship Island (5 Photos)
All Images © Michael Gakuran
“Gunkanjima, or ‘Battleship Island’ in English, is the nickname for a tiny deserted island off the coast of Japan. Once used to mine coal, at its peak it had a thriving community and one of the largest population densities the world has ever seen. Nowadays it lies in ruins and visiting the island is strictly forbidden except via the designated tour routes which, unfortunately, do not allow travellers to explore deep inside.
I was fortunate enough to meet a fellow urban explorer who took me to the island in secret. We only had a few short hours of time to photograph the place, but I was overwhelmed by the mysterious beauty in the decaying concrete buildings and the curious objects left behind by the residents who were forced to leave their homes there some 30 years ago.”-Michael Gakuran
Michael Gakuran lives and works in Japan. To view more of his work and learn more about his exploration on Battleship Island click here.
Tags: Battleship Island, Gunkanjima, Japan, Michael Gakuran
July 28th, 2010 at 12:22 pm EEDT
WOWZA, beautiful work! What a location and what photos could be made there!
July 28th, 2010 at 12:34 pm EEDT
Oh, man. How I’d love to shoot a fashion spread there.
July 28th, 2010 at 12:47 pm EEDT
there was a tv special a year or two ago on the discovery channel about that island. very fascinating. that island gives a tiny view as to what an apocalyptic world might look like. i’m surprised Hollywood movie productions haven’t used it for sets.
July 29th, 2010 at 9:53 am EEDT
Simply amazing… really good job! I wish I could explore this place!
July 29th, 2010 at 10:07 am EEDT
I think the show you are talking about is “life after people.” During the show, one of the segments show real life places that have been abandoned to give an idea of what modern cities might look like after people have disappeared. They go to some very neat locations during the show including my states horrible disaster Centralia, PA. I stopped off at Centralia coming back from New York, and it is creepy being in a ghost town. Alas by the time that I discovered Centralia they had already demolished most of the building.
July 29th, 2010 at 12:53 pm EEDT
love the arrangement with the cautiously optomistic doll at the end…. something to think about as we approach the anniversary of 9/11 …hope
July 29th, 2010 at 2:04 pm EEDT
Wow! Amazing what treasure there can be found within ruins. How I’d love to photograph this place. Makes me curious though. How did this happen?
July 31st, 2010 at 12:54 pm EEDT
Thanks for posting; dark and fascinating place brought forth by your photographic perspective. I want to walk through it.
July 31st, 2010 at 2:28 pm EEDT
Reminds me of that stage on COD4 Modern Warfare….
July 31st, 2010 at 2:41 pm EEDT
gr8 efforts..!! thanks for sharing such facts and amazing pictures.
July 31st, 2010 at 4:02 pm EEDT
Stunning work. Amazing and beautiful photographs.
August 3rd, 2010 at 7:52 pm EEDT
Thanks for all the comments :). Be sure to check out the full post with all the pictures and some background here: http://gakuranman.com/gunkanjima-ruins-of-a-forbidden-island/
August 6th, 2010 at 3:01 am EEDT
Remain in the world
August 17th, 2010 at 7:40 am EEDT
It looks great and that really made me curious about the reason of leaving it like that :)
August 20th, 2010 at 7:40 am EEDT
I loved this collection. Looks like something out of a video game. I added this link to my Weekly 30: http://thirtymag.com/weekly-30/weekly-30-august-20/
August 22nd, 2010 at 7:47 am EEDT
The old chair must be elementary school’s one．Now I can hear the voice of children’s laughing and go around anywhere the island through the picture. Thank you for introducing the 軍艦島 (Gunnkanjima). It’s really good picture.ありがとうございます。
September 15th, 2010 at 1:33 pm EEDT
Awsome, i would love to get an opportunity like this one day. Very good pictures !
September 29th, 2010 at 10:59 am EEDT
Simply stunning works! Great job!
October 5th, 2010 at 3:49 am EEDT
Wow…..amazing…breathtaking!
October 13th, 2010 at 11:55 am EEDT
Amazing images and what an interesting story. This is the first time I’ve heard of this place and I’m a huge history buff. I’m going to Google this now. Thanks for sharing and for having the guts to sneak in there!!!!
October 21st, 2010 at 10:43 am EEDT
This is looks very similar to one of the levels on Call of Duty.
Great stuff! Very atmospheric
December 23rd, 2010 at 2:56 pm EEDT
Haunting images…great work.
December 28th, 2010 at 1:21 pm EEDT
Perfect training ground for special operations units. Also a good tool to explain the value of what was left behind from a sustainability perspective. All of the concrete and steel can be recycled, not to mention the wiring. Thanks for the amazing shots!
February 2nd, 2011 at 12:17 am EEDT
My brother suggested I might like this blog. He was entirely right. This post truly made my day. You cann’t imagine just how much time I had spent for this information! Thanks!
February 16th, 2011 at 3:27 pm EEDT
She saiid her arival to the grammys in an egg was stupid and such. oh well joan rivers is a bitch
February 24th, 2011 at 2:39 pm EEDT
What a great adventure! I really like the chair photograph. Of course, the other ones a wonderful!
April 1st, 2011 at 6:53 pm EEDT
It occurs to me that coal might be making a comeback in Japan and SOON, thanks to the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
So perhaps this island will live again!
April 16th, 2011 at 12:57 am EEDT
BRAVO!!
September 17th, 2011 at 6:20 pm EEDT
Amazing Work! The images are visually stunning and haunting at the same time.
September 17th, 2011 at 8:38 pm EEDT
Awesome pictures, fascinating!
November 29th, 2011 at 10:04 am EEDT
Awesome photographs! What a location!
November 29th, 2011 at 10:08 am EEDT
The risk was worth the reward !
January 21st, 2012 at 6:07 pm EEDT
nice ones!!
January 30th, 2012 at 1:47 pm EEDT
Great one thanks for posting it.
May 5th, 2012 at 7:09 am EEDT
I would really like to see some picture of when it was inhabited now.
Great photography!