Gunkanjima: UNESCO World Heritage site?

The Asahi Shimbun has reported that some want Nagasaki’s “Battleship island” to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site:
The island has been included in a tentative list of candidates for designation as a UNESCO World Heritage site by the Cultural Affairs Agency, along with other former industrial sites in surrounding prefectures. Officially known as Hashima island, it was a major source of coal until the mine closed in 1974. In its heyday, more than 5,000 people inhabited the island, whose contours resemble a battleship. While Hashima is currently off-limits, the city of Nagasaki plans to open it to the public next spring.
While looking for some information about Hashima, I came across this short documentary on YouTube. It was made in 2002 by filmmaker Thomas Nordanstad and follows the story of a man who was born on the island and wants it to be turned into a museum.
Part 1
Part 2
More information on the island can be found at:
- Wikipedia
- Color photo gallery
- Black & White photos, including pre-1974 island
- A virtual tour of the island
- Aerial view on Google sightseeing
- Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
- dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
- Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)

Pingback: Gunkanjima (Battleship Island) opens to tourists | Japan Probe
Pingback: linkfeedr » Blog Archive » Gunkanjima (Battleship Island) opens to tourists - RSS Indexer (beta)
Pingback: Gunkanjima mini-tour | Japan | Shibuya246
Pingback: Entertainment Blogs » Blog Archive » Gunkanjima (Battleship Island) opens to tourists
Pingback: gunkanjima japan
Pingback: gunkanjima