Everything you need to know about visiting Okunoshima: Japan’s rabbit island

Forget Disneyland. I’ve found the happiest place on earth, and there’s not a Mickey Mouse in sight. I’m talking about Japan’s rabbit island; Okunoshima.  This island is overrun with cute fluffy bunnies, waiting for visitors to come armed with treats. I challenge anyone to leave there at the end of the day without warm fuzzy feelings!

Okunoshima is often referred to by its nickname, usagi jima (rabbit island in English). If you have a couple of days in Hiroshima prefecture I would put this in my top three places to visit! Read on to find out everything you need to know to plan a trip to Japan’s rabbit island.

How to get to Japan’s rabbit island

I visited Okunoshima by car, but it’s just as easy to get there by train.  To access the island from Hiroshima city you can go via two routes:

Option one:

The cheaper (but longer) route is to take the JR Kure Rapid Line train from Hiroshima to Hiro and change at Hiro station (around 45 minutes journey).  From there change for the JR Kure line bound for Mihara and get off at Tadanoumi station (around 60 minutes).

Option two:

If you have a Japan rail pass, you can get the Shinkansen (bullet train) from Hiroshima to Mihara (25-30 minutes), then change at Mihara for the JR train to Tadanoumi as mentioned above.  This route will save you about 25 minutes on your journey. However, if you don’t have the rail pass it will cost a lot more to go this way.

Once you arrive at JR Tadanoumi station the ferry pier is a short 5-minute walk away.  Before you get in line for the boat, purchase your tickets first from the machine next to the shop.

Travel tip: If you didn’t bring any rabbit food with you, buy some here at the ferry port when you get your tickets.

Taking the ferry

The ferry schedule varies according to the day and season. As a general rule, they seem to run every 60 minutes with a longer break over lunchtime. I would highly recommend checking out the times in advance through the official website. It’s in Japanese, so if you can’t read it do a Google page translation.

Travel Tip: I recommend trying to get the ferry back before 4 pm. I took a 4.30 pm ferry which was one of the last ones of the day, and the queue was huge even though I got there 30 minutes before!

Things to do on rabbit island

Once you arrive at Okunoshima, there a few interesting spots to discover, or you can just stroll around and interact with the bunnies like I did.

1. Visit the museum

Despite their protected status life wasn’t always so good for the island’s inhabitants. During the Second World War, Okunoshima was used to test poison gas, with the poor bunnies as the test subjects. If you are interested in the history of the island, you could pay a visit to the museum.

2. Have a picnic

If you are visiting during the warmer months, I recommend stocking up on bento boxes from a convenience store and setting up a picnic lunch. You may find that you have a few extra guests joining you!

3. Mooch around the hotel

There is a hotel on the island called Kyukamura Okunoshima. For day visitors it is worth visiting the gift shop for some interesting souvenirs. For example, I bought some cute chocolate bunny cookies for my colleagues, and some not so cute but funny rabbit poop shaped chocolates.

4. Hire a bike

It takes around an hour to walk around the whole island, but another nice way to see it is by bicycle.  You can rent bikes from the hotel.

My top tips for best bunny viewing:

• If you can, bring your own food for the rabbits. You can buy some pellet food on the island but the rabbits will love you more if you bring fresh vegetables for them to munch on.  I took a bag of freshly chopped cabbage and carrots which the rabbits loved. Carrots seem to go down particularly well!
• Let the rabbits approach you. If you go bounding after them, chances are they’ll take one look at you and bolt. Instead let them approach you. Which they will. Particularly if they see you holding food…
• Don’t pick the rabbits up. These are wild animals and they do not like to be man handled or petted.
• Don’t feed them by the road. There are occasionally buses going to and from the hotel so don’t leave rabbit food lying on the road or feed them somewhere which could prove to be dangerous for them.

Estimated day out cost:

JR train from Hiroshima: around 4,000 yen (free with Japan rail pass)

Ferry cost: 320 yen per adult

Lunch:  Budget around 1000 yen for convenience store bentos and drinks

Souvenirs: 1000 yen for 2 small boxes of chocolates or cookies

TOTAL APPROXIMATE COST: 6,320 yen(without Japan rail pass) (day trip) 

2,320 yen (with Japan rail pass) (day trip)

Where to stay in Hiroshima:

If you are staying in Hiroshima city, I can recommend the centrally located Ark Hotel.  As I visited during the week and booked a couple of months out, I got an amazing deal online for around 7,000 yen for a double room.  The hotel is comfortable and the staff are very friendly. The hotel also has a number of public baths for guests to use if you want to try a onsen experience.

[tp_hotel_widget hotel_id=258879 responsive=true subid=””]

What to eat in Hiroshima:

If you’re after Japanese food, try Hiroshima style okonomiyaki. It’s a delicious savoury pancake and the Hiroshima variety also has noodles on top. If you want western food I love Graffity – a really cool Mexican restaurant with amazing tacos and super friendly owners!

Need more inspiration?

Combine a trip to rabbit island with the nearby Shimanami Kaido, a beautiful cycle path that spans the world’s longest collection of suspension bridges. You could do the whole cycle route and overnight on Okunoshima in 2 days. For more information on the cycling route, check out this article.