Series: Gunkanjima
Hashima, the Island at the Edge, lies about 15 kilometers from the port of Nagasaki, Japan. Today the island is desolate, but only half a century ago it was the site of a coal mine with tunnels diving down to coal beds under the sea. The mining industry generated a thriving community with one of the highest population densities ever recorded on earth. Howeve, when the mine closed in 1974 the inhabitants quickly abandoned the island leaving behind an empty shell and a haunting message about industrial infrastructure and the exhaustion of natural resources.