When humans left, nature prevailed. On Hashima Island, a 16-acre patch of land off the southern coast of Japan, grass and vines and flowers flourish as concrete and steel wither. Once one of the most densely populated areas in the world, it’s been uninhabited since the mid-1970s. It’s become a destination for adventurers, turned into an evil villain’s lair in the James Bond film Skyfall, and filmed for National Geographic’s One Strange Rock.
Beginning in 2011, Takafumi Noguchi and a team of researchers began traveling to the dilapidated island, also known as Gunkanjima (Battleship Island) after its vaguely ship-like shape, to measure the deterioration of the reinforced concrete buildings. Their ultimate goal is saving them.
Jutting out of the
