Hachijojima and Aogashima

Whether on some distant island chain, perched on a mountain pass or hidden away in a deep valley, some of the most fascinating gifts of Japan's unique geography are those hidden at its fringes, requiring a serious investment of time, planning - and more than a little luck - to experience. What would it feel like to arrive in such an isolated destination? What sights might be hidden there? And who would choose to live in this kind of place?

One such destination that has lingered for a few years on my travel to-do list is Aogashima - a far flung volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean, the most remote of the inhabited Izu Islands and no more than 3.5 kilometers from end to end at its furthest point. Lacking a natural harbor and surrounded by often choppy seas, the island can be accessed only by helicopter or ferry from its larger neighbor, Hachijojima - but the crossing is notorious for its frequent cancellations, leaving many intrepid travelers with stories of their own near-miss. While its population is often given as 170, one resident assured me the real number was closer to 50. And then of course, there's its appearance - a crater within a crater, rising eerily from an otherwise empty, featureless sea.

With all this in mind, when an old friend let me know he would be in Japan with a few days to spare and was determined to take his shot, there was no question of letting the opportunity go to waste. What followed was perhaps my most extraordinary trip ever, with spectacular scenery, fascinating interactions with local people, and no guarantee that things would turn out well.

Day 1 - Hachijojima

After meeting up with my friend in Tokyo, our journey began with a 50-minute flight from Haneda to Hachijojima Airport. Established by the Japanese Imperial Navy in 1928, it was later turned over to civilian hands in 1954 and today serves just the one routing to Haneda, as well as helicopter departures to Aogashima and Mikurajima.

For all my excitement at arriving for the first time in a new destination, my first impressions were dampened somewhat by a thick blanket of mist, blocking the view of nearby Mount Hachijo-Fuji and the ocean. Undeterred, we jumped in a taxi for a quick drive to our accommodation for the night - a no-frills minshuku or boarding house called Funamiso.

Leaving our bags behind, we were at last ready to set out and explore the island in earnest, beginning with an easy 20-minute stroll to Sokodo Port. After a much-needed lunch break at Seaside Kitchen Wa, our next stop was at the Sokodo-so, another local guesthouse that also offers e-bikes for rent. In no time at all, we were speeding off on a relaxed circuit of the island's upper half.

By the time we had rounded the base of Mount Hachijo-Fuji to arrive at the island's opposite shore, the mist had cleared enough to reveal the slopes of Hachijo-Kojima - a smaller island comprising a single volcanic peak, some 7.5 kilometers to the west - although the summit itself remained hidden beneath a dome-shaped cloud. As the sun began to set, we paused to enjoy the view from the Nambara Senjojiki, a plateau of black volcanic rocks extending around 500 meters along the shore.

Just a few steps away, I noticed a curious little monument in the form of a man and woman in traditional dress, seemingly enjoying the view together. A nearby sign informed me that this was in fact Ukita Hideie - a retainer to the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi and lord of what is today Okayama Prefecture - and his wife, Gohime. Following his master's death in the closing years of Japan's era of warring states, Hideie remained loyal to the Toyotomi family and ended up on the losing side at the battle of Sekigahara.

In the aftermath of that great battle, Hideie was banished here to Hachijojima with his two young sons, while Gohime was returned to her birth family. Although they would never meet again, Gohime refused to remarry and Ukita lived on the island to the ripe age of 84.

With the light fading, we made our way across the middle part of the island towards Sokodo Port, where we dropped off our rental bikes and changed to a taxi to reach Goan - a rustic but very pleasant izakaya-style restaurant where we had a pre-booked reservation. Here we enjoyed a few classic small dishes, but by far the highlight of the meal was the fresh sashimi of the day, consisting of tuna and medai (barrelfish).

With an early start to make the next morning, we called it a night and made our way back through the town to our accommodation, in turns a little giddy with excitement and nervous to see how the weather might affect our plans.

Day 2 - Aogashima

If anything, the mist had only thickened the following morning as we checked out of Funamiso and took a 20-minute stroll to the Sokodo ferry terminal for our journey on to Aogashima. Fortunately though, we were able to buy our tickets without incident, and the only sign of weather related troubles came as a last-minute stream of passengers arrived in shared taxis, that morning's helicopter having been canceled just minutes before due to poor visibility.

The ferry ride itself took just under three hours and was pleasant enough despite the limited view, with a roomy passenger cabin and comfy seats. With little to see through the portholes or the limited section of upper deck available to passengers, I soon began to drift off, awaking with a start as the island loomed into view, sending a ripple of excitement through the cabin.

Due to its lack of natural harbors, Aogashima's Sampo Port was until relatively recently the last port in Japan to receive freight and passengers only by small barges, presenting a huge limiting factor to life and tourism on the island. The present landing pier was completed in 2000 only after a mammoth 12-year project, requiring cargo ships to be birthed along the edge of the sea wall to provide a base for the construction.

Conditions in the sea surrounding the island are also exceptionally severe, with waves ranging in height from an average of two meters in summer to over five in winter - and double that during typhoon weather. Even with the relatively calm weather on the day of our arrival, staff urged us off of the dock without so much as a look back.

With Aogashima just slightly too large to explore on foot, I was relieved to have been able to book a car from the island's only rental store, and the manager was waiting for us as we disembarked with our ride for the next two days - a tiny K-class compact minivan. After quickly showing our licenses, we jumped in and followed his own little car across the island to the center of town, where we finalized the rental paperwork, stopped in at the island's only supermarket, and registered at the nearby town hall in exchange for free use of the campsite.

We had planned to depart the island the following morning by ferry, but as its chances of actually arriving seemed to dwindle a little with each conversation around the town, we took the precaution of adding our names to the waiting list for the daily helicopter shuttle. After checking in at the town hall we made two more quick stops in the town - both relating to Aogashima's short yet fascinating history. In fact, little is known about the island before the 18th century, including how it came to be settled, as it appears only in passing on historical documents. In the 1780s, a series of earthquakes and volcanic events killed half the population with the rest fleeing to Hachijojima.

The island would lie empty until 1835, when a man named Sasaki Jirodayu led an expedition of the dispossessed to reclaim their lost home. Despite finding the island significantly changed by the eruption, the mission was a success and today visitors can see a monument to the resettlement and the tomb of Sasaki himself, both just a short walk from the town hall.

Keen to get at least some kind of view, we made two quick stops on the drive back to the campsite, at the Naganowasho Lookout and at a section of highway looking across the crater to the central cinder cone, called Maruyama, but the thick mist allowed little more than an impression of the island's overall outline.

Arriving back at the campsite, we set up our tent at a nice spot on the slope of Maruyama, overlooking the circular valley below. With a couple of hours of light remaining, we set out along the One Circle Maruyama Hiking Route - bringing us in a gentle climb up to the summit ridge and around it, taking around half an hour.

In addition to the usual toilets, running water and covered seating area, the campsite's users also have easy access to the nearby Aogashima Fureai Sauna - a unique facility with a steam room and bathing facilities, all fed by natural geothermal energy.

After a very welcome dip in the bath's mineral rich, sulfur-smelling water, I got started on our dinner using one of the camp's built-in steam ovens, powered by the same naturally heated water source as the sauna. While it took some time for the oven's cylindrical aperture to reach the required heat, the meal - a simple curry with ingredients bought at the local supermarket - turned out to be just what we needed.

Day 3 - Aogashima / Hachijojima

Making an early start the following morning, we scoffed down a rudimentary breakfast before tearing down the tent and piling into our little rental van in readiness to head down to the port. As we suspected, however, a call to the ferry company's head office in Tokyo revealed that there would indeed be no ferry that day.

Somewhat concerned that we might be trapped on the island for a few more days, we instead made our way into the town to try and get an update on the helicopter situation. This turned out to be canceled as well, at least for the time being, but there was a chance it might return for an unscheduled stop that afternoon.

With a couple of hours to spare before our next potential escape, we took an overgrown path off of the main road to the scattered ruins of Sasaki Jirodayu's former residence. Today, little remains beyond a few lengths of wall built from heavy, round stones - a technique called tamaishigaki, most likely learned on neighboring Hachijojima.

We next set out to take a last quick look at a few of the island's most popular lookout points, but despite overall visibility being a little better than on the previous day, the overall shape of Aogashima's distinctive double crater remained stubbornly out of sight.

Still not quite sure how things would turn out, we dropped off our rental van and made our way up to the island's only helipad, located on a flat hilltop just outside of the town. Fortunately, staff at the little office assured me that a helicopter was expected any minute and we had a place on it. Just a few moments later, the sleek aircraft had swung down out of the gloom and I crossed the tarmac for my first ever helicopter ride. In just a few seconds, I may have seen more of the island than in the previous two days!

It took just 20 minutes to cross the stretch of sparkling blue ocean between the two islands. As much as the thrill of riding a helicopter, what most amazed me during that time was the incredible, featureless vastness of the ocean - without so much as a speck on the horizon to either side, until the cone of Mount Hachijo-Fuji rose up suddenly before us, and we were already descending onto the airport's single long runway.

After collecting our bags and leaving the airport behind, our first order of business was to pick up a rental car from the aptly named Airport Car Rental, a little shop just a few minutes walk to the east. A slightly ramshackle building beside a lot packed with vehicles in various stages of intactness, it certainly didn't look like much - but the owner wouldn't let us out of sight until he'd circled everything we could conceivably need on our map, and we were oddly delighted to find our vehicle for the next day and a half was exactly the same minivan that we had been driving on Aogashima.

Once on our way, we followed the coast around to the south eastern side, where the day-visit hot spring of Miharashinoyu sits high on the slope of the island's second peak, Mount Mihara. Washing away the day's sweat and worry, we took a long soak in an outdoor bath with a sweeping view over the rocky coast below.

We had planned to hike up to the crater summit of Mount Hachijo-Fuji the next day, but as we pulled out of the hot spring's car park, a sudden break in the clouds prompted a sprint to the opposite side of the island and the entrance to a steep, zigzagging trail. With mist once again threatening to settle, our expectations remained low - but just as we emerged at the summit and began cautiously to work our way around the crater rim, the air cleared, revealing wondrous views across the interior and out to sea.

After carefully picking our way around the crater rim - the narrow path can be difficult to make out in places, and there are a few vicious little potholes - we made our way back to the trail entrance and continued down to the west coast in our van, pausing briefly for another spectacular view across the valley floor towards Mount Mihara at the Fureai Ranch.

With afternoon giving way to early evening, it was time to make an appearance at our accommodation for the night. Run by a delightful mother and son team, the Galaxy Guesthouse turned out to be another low-key highlight - a cozy, timber structure with quirky pan-Asian decor and a great location close to the sea.

Oriented, freshened up and relieved of our luggage, we were soon on our way back into town for our evening meal, but not before stopping at the owners' recommendation to catch the sunset from the nearby Yuhigaoka Viewpoint.

For dinner that night, we chose the appealingly named Yoyoishoraisu, or Night Owl Rice - a friendly little local izakaya with a hearty, seafood dominated menu.

Our bellies once again full of delicious local cuisine, we returned to our guesthouse and turned in, eager to hit the ground running on our final day of island sightseeing.

Day 4 - Hachijojima

After all the uncertainty of the last few days, slowly waking up to coffee and a few store-bought snacks at the Galaxy Guesthouse was unimaginable bliss and the perfect start to our last few hours on the island. Saying our goodbyes to the owner and her son, we set off to check out a final handful of sightseeing spots, beginning with the Ozato Tamaishi Wall.

Located at the southwestern end of the main town - several sections of wall formed from large, spherical stones surround the former site of the shogunate encampment, established in 1528 and the center of political life on the island until 1908. It is said that at the time of its construction, stones were brought one at a time by the island's population in exile in exchange for daily food rations.

Just around the corner I found another interesting spot, known as the Furusato Mura. A timber house built in the island's distinctive style and maintained by local volunteers, the facility was intended to showcase historical building methods while providing a venue for traditional arts and crafts, but seems to have closed during the Coronavirus pandemic.

A little way out of town towards the southern end of the island, my next stop was at the Kihachijo Meyu Workshop - a craft center preserving ancient silk weaving and dyeing methods unique to the island. Known throughout Japan since the Muromachi Period (1333-1573), Kihachijo fabrics are primarily used - just like their mainland counterparts - to make kimono and obi. What makes them unique is primarily the dyeing agents, all of which are made from natural ingredients found on the island.

Keen for a last look at some of the island's natural scenery, we pulled into the car park of Uramigataki Onsen at the foot of Mount Mihara close to the island's southeastern coast. From here, a short walk through dense jungle brought us to the Uramigataki Waterfall. The path circles around behind the flow of the waterfall itself, hence the name meaning “Waterfall viewed from inside”.

Located on the opposite side of the car park and fed by the same source that leads into the falls is Uramigataki Onsen itself - a public, open air bath with cool, mineral rich water and a pleasant view out over the treetops. The bath is free to use, mixed gender and requires visitors to wear a swimsuit.

Feeling refreshed and at least somewhat presentable, we turned back to the western end of the island for a final stop at Pizza Paradiso - an simple white concrete building, fully outfitted with its own wood-fired pizza oven and an attractive dining space looking out onto a wide, manicured lawn.

Fortified with a delicious piece of calzone and some freshly squeezed lemonade, it was at last time to return our trusty minivan and make our way back to the airport for our afternoon flight.

Speaking as someone lucky enough to regularly travel for work, it's not often that visiting a new part of Japan feels quite so exciting, or like such a big step into the unknown. For all the amazing sights of the last few days then - in fact, the sole disappointment had been the lack of a clear view on Aogashima - much more important to me was the chance to rediscover a certain thrill of adventure and discovery.

For like minded travelers, I can heartily recommend a visit to both islands, but must emphasize the need for careful planning and - ideally at least - accommodation in reserve in case rough seas or poor visibility make the crossing impossible.