There’s a reason Gunkanjima is nicknamed Battleship Island. As you approach by tour boat, as we did a few weeks ago, the mysterious place, about nine miles off the coast of Nagasaki, Japan, resembles ...

In recent years, Nagasaki Prefecture’s Hashima Island, better known as Gunkanjima, or “Battleship Island,” has become one of the most internationally famous sites in Japan. A coal mining center for ...

Battleship Island. It's a fantastic name for an unbelievable place. A place unlike any in the world. A tiny island, once home to 5,259 people with the highest population density in history, abruptly ...

Atlas Obscura on Slate is a new travel blog. Like us on Facebook, Tumblr, or follow us on Twitter @atlasobscura Advertisement Hashima Island, 11 miles off the coast of Nagasaki, is known by two ...

Hashima Island, nicknamed Gunkanjima, lent itself as a location for the 007 film Skyfall after producers were enticed by its sinister past. After being left to rot for 40 years, the dilapidated ...

Lying just off the coast of Nagasaki, Japan, the little island of Gunkanjima first seems like the fortified home of ghosts. Surrounded by walls and with blocks of buildings close to each other, ...

Nicknamed Gunkanjima, or Battleship Island, because of its shape, Hashima island has an eerie, sinister look, perfect for, say, a villain’s lair in an action movie. The inspiration for villain Raoul ...

Hashima Island—nicknamed Gunkanjima or Battleship Island—was once a bustling coal mining hub before being abandoned to the sea. Today, it’s a UNESCO World Heritage site that can only be visited on ...

What to do with a post-apocalyptic scene of devastation and decrepitude? Put it in Skyfall, the newest James Bond movie, and invite tourists to visit. The scene in question is in Nagasaki, Japan, ...