Everything you ever wanted to know about the Ogasawara Islands
The Minami Jima location is one of the most famous spots in the Ogasawara island chain but it can only be reached by swimming into it. (Photo by Flickr user *yasuhiro)Amy Nakazawa of the blog Blue Lotus has posted a multi-part series about her recent government-sponsored trip to the Ogasawara Islands. Also known as the Bonin Islands, this small island chain is technically a part of "Tokyo Prefecture" despite being 1000km south of Honshu. The famed battle site Ioto -- otherwise known as Iwo Jima -- is a part of this chain but most tourism heads to the two lush, inhabited islands of Chichijima and Hahajima.
The idea of a semi-tropical vacation 'without leaving Tokyo' may seem appealing, but getting there is a serious challenge. With no air travel, the only passage is a 25-hour ferry, which costs around ¥50,000-¥60,000 per person round-trip. The voyage also gets quickly canceled in bad weather.
With so few who have actually been, Nakazawa's photo journal and diary of her experience there may be providing the most-indepth and unfiltered way to understand what the islands are really like. Is there insane landscape and interesting flora? Yes. Can you swim with dolphins? Yes. Are there tetrapods and superfluous concrete like with every single other beach in Japan? Yes, unfortunately.
Unlike with a short jaunt to Izu-Oshima, if you don't like what you see in Chichijima, you can't just head home immediately. But now thanks to Nakazawa, you know exactly what you are getting into before jumping on that long, long ferry.
