Airports around the world have found an unconventional, eco-friendly way to take advantage of all the unused open space around their runways and buildings: hosting beehives.
Hamburg Airport created a buzz when it installed its first apiary in 1999, and other airports in Germany were quick to follow suit. Soon enough, the trend spread to airports in European and North American cities, from Copenhagen and Malmo, Sweden, to Chicago and Seattle.
Since 2016, the Hagi-Iwami Airport in Shimane has been the proud home of Asia's first and only airport apiary. The airport is located in Masuda, a city that lies on the coast of Shimane with a population of around 46,000. It is a small seaside city that could be described as idyllic, with an abundance of greenery and the Sea of Japan to the north. Busan is close enough for Masuda residents to pick up Korean programs on their radios.