It’s really called Okunoshima but Usaga Jima describes it better: Rabbit Island. It’s near Japan, as you might have guessed.

It is home to hundreds of wild rabbits. That doesn’t really describe it though. The Japanese who go there get a great satisfaction from the rabbits.

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Compare the Japanese to other visitors.

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Not quite the same, is it. Japan is not full of small animals like some other places. So this is a zoo you can enter and the rabbits are surprisingly tame.

Some think they are descendants of test rabbits used in during WWII when the Japanese army was secretly producing poison gas there. Okunoshima was a secret and they even took it off their maps. Rabbits were brought to the island in order to test the effects of the poison.

Now rabbits have the run of the place. And tourists can interact with them. Bunches of rabbits beats a Museum of Poison Gas Production.

But are they relatives of the test rabbits? It was reported that all the rabbits were killed when the factory ceased production. Others prefer the account that says schoolchildren brought some rabbits to the island in 1971. Anyway, there are thousands now. And predators are not allowed.

The island is reached by ferry and is quite popular with tourists who can play golf, camp and spend time on the beaches.

The more serious minded can tour the former poison gas facilities or see the ruins of military buildings on the island.

Most apartments in Japan do not allow pets so this might be a way to hang out with small animals. You can buy food for the rabbits on the island. You can take a video like the one of this woman being chased by a “stampede” of rabbits.

You can buy food for the rabbits on the island. Or you can take a video like the one of this woman being chased by a “stampede” of rabbits.