I was lucky enough to kick off 2018 in another country – Japan! Japan has been on my bucket list since I became a little bit obsessed with manga and anime in my teens. That obsession as since faded slightly, but Japan has always fascinated me for many reasons. Its vibrant cities. Its connection with Nature. Its incredible architecture. Its awe inspiring temples and shrines. It’s a small country with a lot to offer, from culture and food to beautiful landscapes and just pure craziness…
While in Japan I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to visit Ōkunoshima, famously known as ‘Bunny Island’. You may have seen the YouTube videos and Instagram posts from many of the hundreds of thousands of visitors who go there every year. Images and videos of people shrieking in delight as they are smothered by hungry rabbits. If you haven’t heard of this place then get comfy and let me educate you!
I’ve put together a guide to help fellow rabbit fans get to the island with ease, as while researching how to get there myself I found it quite difficult to work out whether the ferries were actually running in January. I can tell you that they do run in winter and pretty regularly too! Also, might I add, rabbits aside, this island is absolutely beautiful. With its white sandy beaches and panoramic views of the surrounding islands, even if you aren’t mad about bunnies, you’ll like Ōkunoshima, Bunny Island. It unfortunately has a devastatingly sad history too so the trip was quite educational. In the second world war, the island was home to a poison gass factory. There is a museum on the island showcasing photos and artifacts from the time.
How to get to Bunny Island
We decided to stay in Hiroshima for a few days and this made it easier for us to get to the island for a day. From Hiroshima, take the Shinkansen Kodama to Mihara, then change and take the Kure Line to Tadanoumi. You can use your JR Pass on both of these trains (See Tip below). There is a faster Shinkansen (Nozomi) you can also take but it’s not included with JR Pass. From Tadanoumi Station it’s less than a 5 minute walk to the ferry port where you can buy your tickets and catch a boat over to the island.
You can also take the local line all the way, but it takes ages!
Tip: If you’re spending a few weeks in Japan I would strongly advise you get yourself a Japan Rail Pass (JR Pass). These are available exclusively for tourists at a very reasonable price and can be used on any trains owned by Japan Rail. Look out for signs for the JR-Line in stations. This is the line where you can use your pass. The Japan Rail Pass is valid on most of the Shinkansen trains (Bullet Trains) which is a bonus for long journeys between cities!
This is the most up-to-date timetable for the ferry to Ōkunoshima, Bunny Island – The timetable is also displayed on the boat that takes you to the island.
Get your tickets from the vending machine outside the gift shop next to the ferry port. Here you can also purchase rabbit food.
Tip: Look out for fresh fruit and veg stalls before you go. We found one outside Mihara station as we had about 20 minutes before our next train. We bought a cabbage to take to the island as an extra treat for the rabbits.
Another bit of useful info; there is a luggage store by the ticket machine which may come in handy if you have luggage with you.
Rabbits everywhere!
It’s safe to say the island is overrun with the adorable creatures. While reading up on the island before heading to Japan, I remember reading a review of a previous winter traveller who said there weren’t as many rabbits as expected and that maybe it was due to the cold weather on their visit. When we arrived on the island it was bitterly cold. There was a strong cold wind that day, but luckily we had beautiful sunshine most of the time. There was the odd snowflake falling down here and there but nothing that seemed to bother the buns! Some areas of the island were sheltered and the sunshine was fairly warm on our faces here, but there were other areas, such as near the hotel that weren’t so sheltered from the wind and it was freezing! But still, everywhere we went there was an a-bun-dance of rabbits! (See what I did there?) Nice little fact for you, rabbits don’t hibernate. I knew this before going so wasn’t put off going in January.
When we arrived on the island, we could already see some rabbits there near the port ready and waiting for visitors to arrive. Since it was cold we decided to get the free shuttle bus to the hotel as we were hungry and also because it’s more of a central part of the island to begin exploring. One cheeky bunny tried to join us on the bus, almost jumping up the step as it followed a food bearing visitor.
We arrived at the hotel and of course there were more and more bunnies everywhere we looked. There were some sheltering from the wind under some bushes next to the hotel entrance, but it only took a rustling of a food bag for them to emerge and come running from all directions towards us and other visitors, jumping and clambering over one and other to get to the tasty treats in your hand. Many visitors including us sat or layed on the floor, resulting in a bunny ambush. We sat down on some steps by a toilet block opposite the hotel and had about 4 or 5 rabbits come over to see what tasty treats we had for them. This was a much more manageable number of hungry bunnies to feed!
We decided to go into the hotel to get some food and chose to try out the hotel’s restaurant. The food was OK. I’m not going to give it too much of a review. What I will say is that the portions were a little bit small and the food was nothing special. It also wasn’t cheap for what it was. I probably wouldn’t go back to the restaurant if I went back to the island. There is also a cafe in the hotel lobby which actually looked a little bit better for food than the restaurant so maybe try this out instead.
Tip: Pack snacks in your bag and get food somewhere else before or after your island visit. I can highly recommend getting an onigiri from any supermarket on the way. Those things are so tasty!
After food we continued to explore. We made our way up along the sandy pathways to the highest point of the island. At the top you get an amazing panoramic view of the inland sea of Japan and Ōkunoshima’s neighbouring islands.
We were followed a few times on our way to the top by some cheeky rabbits looking for food baring humans. We were surprised to find them right at the top as well, sitting there patiently ready and waiting for humans to arrive with treats. As it was January, there weren’t many visitors when we went to Ōkunoshima, Bunny Island, meaning we were the only people up there at the viewpoint and had the incredible view and the bunnies to ourselves. We chilled there for a while with the buns before continuing our journey back down.
Rabbit Welfare on Bunny Island
I thought I would throw in a bit about the welfare of the rabbits here. Animals are often subject to various dangers as a result of tourism. I won’t go into that now, but I’m always curious and weary of animal welfare when visiting tourist attractions involving animals abroad. I can say with confidence that these rabbits are very happy and well treated and I couldn’t see any evidence of welfare issues. Lets remember, these rabbits are wild, although they may look domestic, with fur in all sorts of colours. They aren’t confined to a particular area, they are free to roam the entire island, and it’s a big island for a small animal! Also, apart from being tame due to them having virtually no predators (apart from the odd bird of prey here and there) they act like wild rabbits. They dig burrows, they run and binky to their hearts delight, they snuggle up to other bunnies (or get in fights with them if there’s food around) and they get fed tasty vegetables and high quality rabbit food (available to buy at the gift shop). I was happy to see all visitors sticking to the island rules and not attempting to pick up the rabbits or feed them ‘human’ food. Everyone was very respectful. You can rest assured that these are happy bunnies!
Tip: In order for rabbits to stay happy and healthy I would highly advise against buying certain pet food before your visit. That colourful muesli stuff is a big no no because it’s full of added sugar. I saw a few very fat rabbits while on the island. Whether these have just been fed more regularly than others I’m not sure, but they may have been fed unsuitable food resulting in health problems. Make sure you’re sensible and mindful when you buy food to feed them. Oh and don’t let them steal any food packaging, because they will given half the chance!
I think that’s it! So here are a couple more photos of cute bunnies and this awesome island – enjoy!
I managed to grab myself a few bunny kisses before we headed back to Hiroshima.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy your trip to Ōkunoshima, Bunny Island!
Find out more about Okunoshima by visiting the Island’s official website
~ Have a beautiful day.