Thread by @MarkTomasovic

Have you ever heard the story of Gunkanjima Island off the coast of Japan?

This small island was once the most densely populated place in the world.

Today, it’s a complete ghost town.

I wrote a 1 minute thread below on what happened 👇

This tiny island sits just off the coast of Nagasaki. The island is surrounded by a fortress-like sea wall and filled with closely packed buildings.

However, it’s been completely uninhabited for more than 40 years.

Originally, in the early 1900s, the island was developed by Mitsubishi corporation.

The corporation explored the area and believed that the the island was sitting on a rich supply of submarine coal.

And they were correct.

For almost the next 100 years, the company mined the island for coal, stretching deeper out under the seabed to power Japan’s industrial growth.

By 1941, this tiny island was producing over 400,000 tonnes of coal per year.

Several 10 story apartment complexes were built on this 1 square-kilometer island to house the miners.

There were schools, restaurants, and gaming houses.

It became known as “Midori Nashi Shima” or “The Island Without Green”

The island at its peak housed over 6,000 people, making it the highest population density location that the world has ever known.

But, then the coal ran out.

Mitsubishi closed the mine. Everyone left. The island city was abandoned and left to be reclaimed by nature.

Now, over 40 years later, the island remains an uninhabited ghost town in the middle of the ocean

That’s it! If you’re interested in more threads like this, give me a follow at @MarkTomasovic

I write a daily tweet breaking down energy and industry 🛠

This thread concept was recommended to me by @EthanHBellamy

Source IG: national_archaeology