Images: Must-See “Haikyo”: A Cruise to the World Heritage Island of Gunkanjima

Abandoned buildings huddle atop the Hashima bluffs. (© Nippon.com)

Workers in the mine tunnel. (© Gunkanjima Digital Museum)

An island festival to pray for safety in the coal mine. (© Gunkanjima Digital Museum)

Japan’s first rooftop farm. (© Gunkanjima Digital Museum)

The busy Aozora Market. (© Gunkanjima Digital Museum)

A farewell party held by the last elementary school students to live on the island. (© Gunkanjima Digital Museum)

Above: The cruise boat operated by Gunkanjima Concierge. The upper deck offers excellent views, a souvenir shop, and other services. Below: Monitors installed in the passenger cabin show footage of Nagasaki’s world heritage, with English subtitles. (© Gunkanjima Concierge)

Left: The 62-meter high giant cantilever crane. Right: Senshōkaku, a Western-style reception building, overlooks Nagasaki Port from high above. (© Nippon.com)

The green water gate (center-right) leads to the shipbuilding and repair docks. This is another piece of Industrial Revolution heritage. (© Nippon.com)

Above: In the right foreground is the berthing facility. The lighthouse on the hilltop was built after the island was deserted. Below: The seawall has suffered damage from high rough seas, revealing some of the old stonework. (© Nippon.com)

The island tour begins at the wharf and visits some of the mining facilities. (© Gunkanjima Concierge)

Above: The former main office, at left, stands near the entrance to the mine shaft pier at right. Below: A guide gives an explanation in front of Apartment Block 30. (© Gunkanjima Concierge)

When landing is impossible, the boat circumnavigates the island, allowing passengers a good look at its western side. (© Nippon.com)

Above: The four-story high museum also has a café. Below: Gallery of photos by a former island resident who lived in Apartment Block 30 in 1972. (© Nippon.com)

Above: A model of an apartment building with a rooftop farm. Below: A reproduction of a late-1950s apartment interior. (© Nippon.com)

Clockwise from top left: A 3D CG recreation of Gunkanjima immediately after the mine closure; “Road to the Coal Mining Point,” a virtual experience of the elevator and trolley journey to the coal face; “Wonder Island,” an interactive display that lights up when a shadow is cast upon it. (© Nippon.com)