This Island in Asia Has 1,000+ Friendly Rabbits That Roam Free-and Incredible Beaches, Too

"This small island, located in the Seto Inland Sea off the coast of Hiroshima, is better known as Rabbit Island. Ōkunoshima is home to over 1,000 rabbits, who roam the island freely, and are known for their unusually friendly demeanor. While experts don't fully agree on why or how so many rabbits came to inhabit the island today, there are some leading theories."

"For one, Ōkunoshima's history isn't as warm and fuzzy as its current reputation suggests. In the late 1920s, the Japanese Imperial Army began using the island as a testing site for chemical weapons, most notably poison gas. Rabbits were used in the testing program, and some believe that lab workers released some of the animals into the wild. A more cheerful theory says that a group of school children brought rabbits to Ōkunoshima and released them into the wild in the 1970s."

"Today Ōkunoshima attracts as many as 100,000 visitors each year (that's roughly 100 people per rabbit, if you do the math) who travel to the island to see the bunnies, feed them, and perhaps also visit the island's beaches and soak in its hot springs. But the tourism boom has brought its challenges, to the bunnies-they're often fed a diet but visitors that's inconsistent with their nutritional needs, resulting in shorter lifespans."

Ōkunoshima, nicknamed Rabbit Island, sits in the Seto Inland Sea off Hiroshima and hosts over 1,000 freely roaming, unusually friendly rabbits. Origins of the rabbit population are uncertain, with theories ranging from lab animals released after Imperial Army chemical-weapons testing in the 1920s to schoolchildren releasing rabbits in the 1970s. The island attracts about 100,000 visitors annually who come to see, and often feed, the rabbits while enjoying beaches and hot springs. Tourist feeding practices have harmed rabbit health because visitors provide inconsistent, nutritionally poor food, shortening lifespans. Visitors can buy specially formulated rabbit food at the ferry port or observe from a distance. The island is accessible by bike, with rentals and guided tours available at Kyukamura Ohkunoshima.

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