Gunkanjima Island - The Battleship-Shaped Ruins Steeped in History

Diary

Gunkanjima Island – The Battleship-Shaped Ruins Steeped in History

March 21, 2025

Have you ever packed your lenses for a specific destination? Hashima Island commonly known as Gunkanjima has always been on my list due to its unique and somewhat dark history. I browsed through Flickr to see if anyone had visited the island and used the lens I was considering, but unfortunately, I found nothing. Not my usual choice—neither a Widelux nor a 24mm—I was looking to bring the Contax Zeiss Hologon 16mm f/8 G lens. I borrowed it from Anakin and eventually emptied my pockets for it. Why? Simply because of its irreplicable craftsmanship, an homage to a time when our modern technology was advanced, yet no one could perfectly remake it. Even Light Lens Lab’s attempt to remake the Hologon 15mm f/8 has not yet seen any news due to the high failure rate of the middle, peanut-shaped optical element—it’s incredibly difficult to manufacture.

I planned this trip to Japan specifically for Hashima Island, thinking it would be warmer compared to other countries on my list, such as Turkey or Uzbekistan. I was mistaken. Coming from a place that doesn’t see snow, I had to wear my gloves constantly. My hands and fingers froze on Mount Aso at -3°C. So, we decided to buy better gloves in Kumamoto before heading to Nagasaki, where you can catch a local tour to Hashima Island.

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Less than three days before our tour, we received a message from Klook, the agency that was supposed to secure our spot for the island tour. They needed to refund our ticket because they couldn’t secure any seats. At that moment, my mind went blank; it felt as though my chances of visiting this place had collapsed. But I trusted my instincts—there had to be a way. So I quickly googled and found two agencies, booking two slots for the day we were supposed to leave Nagasaki and head back to Fukuoka.

Things never come easy. February 26 was the day we booked the tour. We woke up at 7 AM because the tour departed at 9 AM, and we needed to be there almost an hour early to pay for the ticket and sign a declaration form. The form stated that if we couldn’t get onto the island due to low visibility from the weather or if wave heights were higher than 0.5 meters, the agency would refund a certain amount to us. When we got to the counter, there were notices in Japanese and English stating, “Currently, the wave is higher than 0.5m; if it doesn’t lower, we will not get onto Hashima Island.” My heart sank, prepared for the possibility that we might not make it, especially as it began to rain at that time.

Cold wind and rain accompanied us as we departed from Nagasaki Port for a 30-minute ride to the island. As we moved further from the mainland, we spotted clear skies with scattered clouds. I knew there was a slim chance we could make it. As we approached about 20 meters from the island, a series of announcements were made. I couldn’t understand a word, of course, but the crowd suddenly applauded and laughed—surely a positive sign. We were going to land on Hashima Island!

Hashima Island, also known as Battleship Island, was named because it resembles a certain Japanese battleship built near Nagasaki Port. It was first discovered to have coal, and later, Mitsubishi acquired the land and began to expand the island, shaping it like its namesake. It was well fortified with concrete to withstand waves, though high tides and strong waves could still splash onto the island. At its peak, over five thousand people lived on this tiny island, packed into residential buildings that included a cinema, school, and recreational areas like a pool.

After hearing the announcement in Chinese confirming it was good to go, I quickly mounted my Contax Zeiss Hologon G 16mm f/8 onto my Leica MP with the external viewfinder. I had a roll of Kodak Portra 400 loaded, rated at ISO 320 to better capture exposures in the shadows. I also had with me the Leica M10-P and the APO-Summicron 35mm f/2 ASPH lens. Chinese tourists were allowed to disembark from the boat first and followed the tour guide to the furthest point on the island. Movement was restricted; you had to stay with the guide and could only access certain areas as many buildings were ruined and at risk of collapsing.

Using a 16mm lens is more challenging than the 24mm tips I’ve shared before in this post. You need to pay careful attention to horizontal leveling and rely heavily on architectural guiding lines and shapes to capture creative photos. It definitely wasn’t suited for the documentary shots I was taking with my Leica M10-P equipped with the 35mm lens.

Looking at the ruins and buildings that couldn’t withstand strong winds or were destroyed by typhoons, and listening to our guide whisper the history of the island, I couldn’t imagine how harsh life must have been for a miner during that period. Nothing lasts forever. It was cold, and miners had to work 12-hour shifts under the sea where the humidity reached 95% and temperatures were high. There was also the risk of explosions due to flammable gases.

The ship departed the island after a 45-minute tour, and I switched between the Leica Summilux 50mm f/1.4 V3 Pre-a E46 and my new Voigtlander APO-Ultron 90mm f/2 as the island began to recede into the distance. Later, I met a fellow Leica user who had started his brief stint on the same ferry. Shin carried his Leica MP with a Summilux 35mm f/1.4 Steel Rim Reissue and a Leica M11-P with the same lens as mine, the Leica APO-Summicron 35mm f/2 ASPH. I wondered what images he captured and how different photographers’ minds work!

If you ever want to visit Hashima Island, let me know; I can pass on information about booking and things you need to check before going there. It’s definitely a lifetime experience. I highly recommend visiting, not just for the photos but to experience the atmosphere and life during the industrial era in Japan.

All images have been resized to optimise webpage loading speed. For the highest resolution images, please refer to my Flickr account.

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