thevintagenews
Hashima Island, Japan--The island was populated from 1887 to 1974 as a coal mining facility. The island has been administered as part of Nagasaki city since the merger of the former town of Takashima in 2005. 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. Travel to Hashima was re-opened on April 22, 2009 after 35 years of closure.