‘Hashima Island was populated from 1887 to 1974 as a coal mining facility. Mitsubishi bought the island in 1890 and began the project, the aim of which was retrieving coal from undersea mines. They built Japan’s first large concrete building (9 stories high), a block of apartments in 1916 to accommodate their workers.
‘In 1959, the 15-acre island’s population reached its peak of 5,259.
‘As petroleum replaced coal in Japan in the 1960s, coal mines began shutting down all over the country. Mitsubishi officially announced the closing of the mine in 1974.’
…
Thank you to Freaky Martin
More on this island:
http://vimeo.com/4557534
weird indeed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fp97FUlSdqI
“The first film, shot in 2002, of the mysterious island Hashima (Gunkanjima). We follow Dotokou, who grew up on the island, and wants it to become a “museum”"