YouTubers secretly infiltrate Japan’s ‘ghost island’ and share video footage

Hashima, better known as Gunkanjima for its silhouette resembling a battleship, is back in the spotlight thanks to content creator Alfon from the parkour crew WHAT. The YouTuber has released a new video in which he sneaks onto the deserted island, located nine miles off the coast of Nagasaki, to document its history and explore its ruins at night.

What was Gunkanjima island?

For decades, Hashima was a symbol of Japanese progress. On a strip of land just 1,600 feet long, more than 5,000 people once lived there thanks to a coal mine operated by Mitsubishi. By the late 19th century, the outpost had transformed into a self-sufficient mini city, with hospitals, schools, shops and stacked housing blocks – becoming the most densely populated place on earth.

Alfon’s video shows the current state of the crumbling buildings, worn down by salt, wind and typhoons. He also captures glimpses of the island’s former life through preserved objects: school desks, instruments, kitchenware and tiny rooms that still bear traces of their former inhabitants.

But the heart of Hashima hides a far darker history. During World War II, thousands of Korean and Chinese forced laborers were exploited in inhuman conditions in its mines. “What nobody told you about Hashima is that while there were schools and cinemas above ground, beneath it, the story was very different,” Alfon says in the video.

Access to the island is restricted and only permitted through official tours. Even so, Alfon manages to slip in clandestinely, avoiding guides and staff. “I can’t explain how we got here, but it was very difficult,” he admits in the footage, which has already racked up thousands of views.

The piece offers not just a journey into a place frozen in time, but also a reflection on the ghosts of Japan’s industrial past.

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