Okinawa and the Ryukyu Islands. Robert Walker
and its first eastside port, Ōsato. After the usual 20-minute unload/reload, the ship departs for the brief 5-mile (8-kilometer) 20-minute sail to Kuroshima’s second port, Katadomari, on the island’s west side. It usually arrives about 3:00PM.
Thus, the sequence is Kagoshima → Takeshima → Iōjima → Kuroshima (two ports), where the ship overnights. In general, two times a week, the next day, she reverses the journey, starting from Katadomari → then Ōsato → Iōjima → Takeshima → and finally Kagoshima. Sailing times are roughly similar except that on the return journeys the M Line starts the day around 8:00AM and arrives back in Kagoshima around 1:30PM. In general, on one out of the three weekly sailings, the ship waits two days before making the return journey. Therefore, pay attention to the ferry schedule on your days of travel. It’s easy to confuse it and find yourself stuck an extra day.
Note that with this ferry schedule, unless you’ve got your own watercraft, or you hire a local fisherman (which is not difficult to do, but very expensive) or are a real good swimmer, visiting each island means staying there at least one overnight, if not a couple of days. That’s not generally a big problem as there are a couple of minshuku on each island and after all, it’s why you came out here.
There’s really no other way off these islands once you’ve landed. And there are no other public services on any of the Mishima Islands: no taxis or buses, no rental cars, no scooters or bikes, and no banks or ATMs, so bring adequate cash. You’ll probably eat at your minshuku as almost all include meals in their daily rates. Most visitors come to snorkel or dive, soak in onsen or just hike and peacefully relax. There are some rather obscure ties to very ancient Japanese history but these will be of interest mostly to Japanese nationals and historians.
5 TAKESHIMA 竹島
Takeshima (竹島; Také-shima), whose name translates as “Bamboo,” is quite a small island and is infrequently visited. Its most recent census listed the population at 83 residents. It is said that there is a larger number of cows. The island’s overall shape is that of a well-formed rectangle, not quite 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) long and less than a mile (about 1 kilometer) wide, but with an extension running out of the island’s southwest point to Cape Ombozaki (オンボ崎; Ombo-zaki). Altogether, this gives the island an area of 1.6 square miles (4.20 square kilometers). Its circumference is 8 miles (13 kilometers). Takeshima’s relatively long, narrow neck plus an approximate 1,640 feet (500 meters) triangular protuberance in the middle of its northern shore, combine to give it a rather unusual shape, somewhat resembling that of a hummingbird or maybe a mosquito.
The approach to the triangular-shaped, cliff-ringed Takeshima or Bamboo Island.
The port is on the north shore, sandwiched into a natural bay partially formed by the northern triangular cape. It’s a small port, more a dock than anything else, with a few buildings and a cement factory. The port is used by the thrice weekly Mishima ferry out of Kagoshima. That schedule is described above. Just up the hill from the port is a very small village, the only habitation on the island. There are two minshuku in Takeshima village. As is almost always the case on these small islands, their owners will meet you at the harbor on arrival and they include all your meals in their nightly rates.
Although there are no great mountains on Takeshima, it’s not accurate to say that it is flat, Rather, is it elevated, with an overall height ranging from 165 to 720 feet (50 to 220 meters) above sea level at its highest point. For the most part, it is ringed by cliffs. There are no beaches.
There is one main road and it pretty well covers the island, running from end to end, east to west, with just a couple of short side branches. Takeshima is almost entirely covered in bamboo and there is no agriculture to speak of, only some cattle grazing in the north and east. Although there is not too much happening on Takeshima, the island does have its own natural beauty.
6 IŌJIMA 硫黄島
The name Iōjima means “Sulphur Island” but it should not be confused with the island of the same name where the heroic battle of World War II took place. That Iwōjima is about 870 miles (1,400 kilometers) to the east of Okinawa in the Pacific Ocean, approximately 745 miles (1,200 kilometers) due south of Tokyo, roughly midway between Tokyo and the US Mariana Islands and Guam.
There are a number of small islands in Japan that bear the name Iōjima, Iwōjima, Iwōtō or Iōtō. They are simply alternative spellings of the same Kanji characters (硫黄島) and all are named for the same reason: they are all “sulphur” (that is, volcanic) islands. They are merely spelled differently in English depending on the transliteration of the Kanji which, of course, is always the same. Thus, for example, Iōjima, Iwojima and Ioujima are all correct. In point of fact, the name of “Iwo Jima” of epic World War II fame was officially changed by Japan in 2007 to the English language spelling and pronunciation of Iōtō, tō simply being yet another variant of “island” (島), along with jima and shima.
Bamboo forms a picturesque backdrop to Takeshima’s cement plant and dock.
Like its more famous namesake, this Iōjima (硫黄島; Iwō-jima), which is also called Mishima Iōjima, Satsuma Iōjima and Tokara Iōjima to help distinguish it from the other Iōjima, is a tiny place. It’s about 2 by 4 miles (3 by 6 kilometers) in width and length, which translates to a total land area of a little under 5 square miles (12 square kilometers) and a circumference of a tiny bit over 12 miles (20 kilometers). A recent report put the island’s population at 142.
Iōjima is served by the thrice weekly “M” Line ferry from Kagoshima. Usually, for each day that there is a drop of passengers and cargo on the westbound sailing, the following day the ship returns sailing eastbound back to Kagoshima. However, on one sailing per week, there is a two-day delay between the drop and the return. The ferry schedule is more fully described at the beginning of this section on the northwestern group of Mishima Islands.
Essentially, Iōjima is one highly active 2,310-foot (704-meter)-high volcano, Mount Iō (硫黄岳; Iō-daké; lit. “Sulphur Peak”), which is centered on the island’s larger east side, and a little village and port (硫黄島港; Iōjima-kō), which is about as far away on the other side of the island as possible. When visiting Iōjima, you almost can’t miss witnessing some kind of volcanic activity out of Mount Iō for Sulphur Peak is always erupting, spewing clouds of sulphur dioxide into the air and iron and sulphur into the ocean through various underwater vents. The sea around the island is permanently colored in striking shades of ochre, from yellow-orange to red-brown. This is particularly noticeable in the harbor because the waters there are partially contained by the tsunami barriers. At the port’s entrance, you’ll see the end of marine-blue ocean waters and the abrupt transition to the island’s sulphur-colored waters. It’s quite dramatic.
Iōjima is a particularly beautiful small island with a fair amount of things to do or see. It is mountainous, covered with lush vegetation, surrounded by sulphur waters and sports a fabulous open-air onsen. The port village, which is the only settlement on the island, is neat, clean and quaint. There are five minshuku. All serve meals with their accommodations as there are no restaurants or other services on the island. If you bring your vehicle (car or motorcycle), bring it with a full tank of gas because there is no filling station on Iōjima. There is one small shop that carries some basic essentials like laundry soap and instant ramen noodles.
The “M” Line serves the three Mishima.
The sulphur-colored waters of Iōjima’s port.
The entrance to Iōjima harbor.
The main sight in town is a small and peaceful Shintō