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Ogasawara Islands
Ogasawara Islands(小笠原諸島), located approximately 1000km south from the main archipelago, is a tropical Islands consisting of more than 30 small and large islands.
photo by Ogasawara Village Tourist Association
The Islands has stunning untouched natural landscapes and home to rare animals and plants, which were highly valued and registered as a UNESCO’s world heritage site in 2011. Since islands has never been connected to any continental landmass, an abundant variety of nature has kept intact and distinctive wildlife has evolved uniquely, so that this beautiful Islands is sometimes called “Eastern Galapagos”.
photo by Ogasawara Village Tourist Association
photo by Ogasawara Village Tourist Association
The top-ranking Island in Ogasawara Islands “Minamijima Island”
Minamijima Island(南島), an uninhabited island streching about 1km from north to south, is located southwest of Chihijima Island. It’s a top-ranking hidden island and many conditions are strictly regulated to land this Island. In order to preserve the valued environment and native ecosystems, at most 100 visitors are allowed to enter this Island and stay only for 2 hours accompaying with Tokyo Nature Guide. There is no admittance between early November and early Febraury.
photo by Ministry of the Environment
The most beautiful place in Minamijima Island is “Ougiike”, a lagoon, which is a gate to the Island connecting to the ocean at the lagoon cave. The beauty of Ougiike is the best all of Ogasawara Islands surrounded by the clear turquoise water and seems like a paradise on earth!
photo by Ogasawara Village Tourist Association
photo by Ministry of the Environment
Minamijima Island is submerged karst topography which most of karst landscape sank beneath the ocean due to the crustal movement. This landscape is so unique and rare in the world that it is designated as a natural monument. Visitors can enjoy distinct landscape such as silkhole (called doline) and sharply pointed lime rocks (called Rapie).
photo by Ogasawara Village
You will find a number of shells at the slope of the white beach spreading around Ougiike. Indeed these are subfossiles of snails extincted about 1000 years ago! You are able to get a close look at these valulable fossil remains here and it’s one of the tourist attractions to visit Minamijima Island.
photo by Ministry of the Environment
You may have a chance to run into wild dolphins and whales on the way to the Minamijima Island.
photo by Ogasawara Village Tourist Association
It takes about 25.5 hours to get from Takeshiba pier of Tokyo to Chichijima Island of Ogasawara Islands by liner ship and 20 minutes to reach to Minamijima by motor boat. It’s a quite long voyage to get to Minamijima Island, but you will see the most impressive place that you’ve ever visited.
Spot Information
| Name | Minamijima Island(南島) | |
| Address | Ogasawara village, Tokyo, Japan | |
| Hours | – | |
| Closed | – | |
| Fees | – | |
| Website | http://www.ogasawaramura.com |
Access
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Route1 | |
| Get on liner ship from Takeshiba Pier of Tokyo to Futami Pier of Chichijima Island (25.5 hours’ voyage) and take moter boat from Futami pier to Minamijima Island (20 minutes). | ||
| View Map |
