Uploaded January 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
This UNESCO World Heritage Site is covers a fascinating part of Japanese history. For two hundred years, Japan's shogunate government kept the country isolated from the west. But in 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry forced open the government to foreign trade, using what's known as gunboat diplomacy. Within a decade, the government had collapsed and the Meiji Emperor restored as the sole ruler of Japan. Fearing colonisation by the West, Japan's new rulers embarked on a massive modernisation and industrialisation program, building railroads, factories, coal mines, dockyards, and much more besides. Much of this activity was concentrated in western Japan, around the city of Nagasaki, where we explored the 19th century Mitsubishi dockyards, and the famous Hashima coal mine island, also known as Battleship Island.
For more Japanese World Heritage sites:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT9964WmoqNi67oWNK0QXXr6vJIj7-k3C
For more industrial World Heritage sites:
Verla Groundwood & Board Mill: youtu.be/BTkm1HpvSpk
Rjukan-Notodden Industrial Heritage: youtu.be/4KfMZjG96yY
Engelsberg Ironworks: youtu.be/5ItI7K0jo7Q
Don't forget to Like and Subscribe to see more of our UNESCO World Heritage Journey!
You can also follow World Heritage Journey on:
Twitter @whjourney
Instagram @joelontheroad
Facebook facebook.com/worldheritagejourney
Web worldheritagejourney.com
Music: Bensound.com - Happiness
Map Images (C) OpenStreetMap.org Contributors, openstreetmap.org
Dejima in Nagasaki Bay, Image CC-BY-SA-3.0 by PHGCOM on Wikimedia Commons, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:PHGCOM
All other images Public Domain
This UNESCO World Heritage Site is covers a fascinating part of Japanese history. For two hundred years, Japan's shogunate government kept the country isolated from the west. But in 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry forced open the government to foreign trade, using what's known as gunboat diplomacy. Within a decade, the government had collapsed and the Meiji Emperor restored as the sole ruler of Japan. Fearing colonisation by the West, Japan's new rulers embarked on a massive modernisation and industrialisation program, building railroads, factories, coal mines, dockyards, and much more besides. Much of this activity was concentrated in western Japan, around the city of Nagasaki, where we explored the 19th century Mitsubishi dockyards, and the famous Hashima coal mine island, also known as Battleship Island.
For more Japanese World Heritage sites:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT9964WmoqNi67oWNK0QXXr6vJIj7-k3C
For more industrial World Heritage sites:
Verla Groundwood & Board Mill: youtu.be/BTkm1HpvSpk
Rjukan-Notodden Industrial Heritage: youtu.be/4KfMZjG96yY
Engelsberg Ironworks: youtu.be/5ItI7K0jo7Q
Don't forget to Like and Subscribe to see more of our UNESCO World Heritage Journey!
You can also follow World Heritage Journey on:
Twitter @whjourney
Instagram @joelontheroad
Facebook facebook.com/worldheritagejourney
Web worldheritagejourney.com
Music: Bensound.com - Happiness
Map Images (C) OpenStreetMap.org Contributors, openstreetmap.org
Dejima in Nagasaki Bay, Image CC-BY-SA-3.0 by PHGCOM on Wikimedia Commons, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:PHGCOM
All other images Public Domain
