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  • I remember there was a time,

  • when if I heard of something that sounded strange or unlikely,

  • I would usually reject it with some kind of cynical, sarcastic response.

  • But once you've been in a robot restaurant,

  • Or a monkey bar,

  • Or an actual fox village

  • What do you seek in the fox village?

  • it kind of makes that cynical, sarcastic response.

  • frighteningly redundant.

  • So on a recent trip to Hiroshima,

  • when a friend mentioned a place called

  • Rabbit Island,

  • an island hidden away in the inland sea of Japan

  • an island literally drenched in rabbits,

  • and containing a derelict chemical weapons facility,

  • I just accepted its existence without question and set off the next day to

  • roll around in a pile of rabbits

  • Rabbit Island’s actual name is Okunoshima

  • and it's about 2 hour journey from the city of Hiroshima by train and by boat.

  • The first thing you notice about the island is it’s transmission tower

  • which isn’t surprising given its the tallest, in all of Japan.

  • A fact which, makes the whole trip, at least seven times more exciting.

  • The boat ride came with a list of warnings

  • such as not to chase the rabbits around,

  • give them human food

  • and of course, not to leave your own pet rabbit on the island,

  • as Pet Rabbits are utterly useless.

  • Hello

  • The first thing that surprised me was how confident and friendly the rabbits were

  • as they ran over to greet everyone and pose for photos.

  • Word on the street is, if you rustle a bag, all the rabbits will come.

  • So let’s test that theory.

  • Calm down, calm down

  • Thinking of the rabbits welfare, I’d spent all my pocket money on rabbit food.

  • But unfortunately, things didn’t go according to plan.

  • You bastard!

  • What have you done? What have you done this costed 100 yen

  • This was 100 yen

  • Unbelievable.

  • The rabbit’s reign over the island is unquestionable,

  • with heir initial friendliness hiding a thuggish gangster mentality underneath.

  • Strangely, no-one seems to know where the rabbits came from,

  • although there are numerous theories.

  • Some say, that Rabbits were invented by the Japanese in the late 19th century

  • as an effective way of disposing of unwanted lettuce.

  • But a more likely and boring theory is that

  • some school children let them loose on a school trip several decades ago,

  • and in the absence of natural predators, the rabbits went on to thrive.

  • As you walk around the island youll find numerous crumbling structures

  • that are the remains of what was once at the centre of Japan’s chemical weapons program.

  • In stark contrast to the island’s newfound cute reputation

  • Okunoshima has quite a dark history.

  • In the 1920’s the island was chosen by the military to be the primary site of Japan’s chemical weapons production.

  • It was chosen due to its location, being conveniently positioned to key military installations in Hiroshima

  • but also being relatively isolated, enabling its production to remain in secrecy.

  • For 16 years from 1929 to 1945,

  • the site was operational producing primarily mustard gas,

  • until it was shut down after the war and occupying allied forces disposed of the gas.

  • As you walk around the island and see the tourists smiling and playing with the rabbits,

  • It can be difficult to believe such a beautiful island, was once at the centre of something so destructive.

  • But as well as the old buildings, the island’s Poison gas museum stands a reminder of the island’s role,

  • ensuring future generations can reflect on the horror of chemical weapons and a dark chapter in the island's history.

  • What's going over there?

  • I reckon

  • Rabbit food

  • Plus rabbits plus (me) equals good Facebook profile photo

  • and itll give the illusion that I’m a nice person

  • Oh, god

  • Lie down, lie down

  • On your stomach

  • Put them on your stomach

  • This is so weird

  • This is so weird

  • This is so weird

  • Come to the rabbit island and...

  • Just lie with the rabbits like this

  • and the sneezing ones

  • It's a little bit painful

  • but it's quite fun

  • It's like a massage

  • but with rabbits

  • Incredible

  • Oh my god

  • You know all these rabbits are diseased Chris

  • What?

  • Okay, time is over

  • Go

  • Go

  • Come to the rabbit island

  • it's good

  • That was real

  • It's been my life long dream to lie in a pile of rabbits

  • Today the dream realized

  • So if you wanna do the same

  • Bunny rabbit island!

  • See ya later

  • I need a shower so badly

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  • I think it's every other day.

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  • See you there Thanks for watching

  • Didn't really work, did it?

I remember there was a time,

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