Inside Japan's Rabbit Island #worldtourismday

For World Tourism Day, we're spotlighting one of the most surreal destinations on the planet: Okunoshima, a tiny island in Japan's Inland Sea overrun by thousands of feral rabbits. But the island's cute reputation hides a darker history, between 1929 and 1945, the Japanese army secretly produced over 6,000 tons of poison gas here. Some believe the rabbits descend from animals used in gas testing, though the island's Poison Gas Museum denies the connection. Another theory traces them back to 1971, when a local elementary school released eight rabbits that, with no natural predators, multiplied into the thousands that call the island home today. Now known as "Rabbit Island," Okunoshima has become one of Japan's most unexpected tourist attractions, proof that even the darkest histories can lead somewhere unforgettable. #rabbits #animals #japan #worldtourismday Got a story idea for us? Send us an email at pitch [at] GreatBigStory [dot] com 📧 Get exclusive GBS items from our online store 🛒 👉 https://shop.greatbigstory.com/ SUBSCRIBE: https://buff.ly/41yqVHF NOTIFICATIONS: Make sure you enable the 🔔 to get notified about our latest video publishes. Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greatbigstory Check us out on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@greatbigstory Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greatbigstory Give us a shout on Twitter: https://twitter.com/greatbigstory Sign up to our newsletter: https://greatbigstory.com/signup/