The airport plan was finalized in 1938, and work on the island began in 1939 but fell behind schedule due to resource constraints during World War II.

[2] A public beach opened on the island in 1947 when the "Yumenoshima" name was adopted.

The beach closed in 1950, and from 1957, the island was used for garbage disposal (mainly plastic at the time).

[2] Yumenoshima is a fairly small district, and contains: Today, Yumenoshima also houses the Daigo Fukuryū Maru, a wooden fishing boat exposed to nuclear fallout during the Bikini Atoll test in 1954; the boat was modified as a training vessel following the exposure and later abandoned near Yumenoshima.

The Koto Ward Board of Education operates public elementary and junior high schools.