An introduction to the Bonin Islands, Ogasawara Guntō

The Bonin Islands lie over 600 miles (1,000 km) south-southeast of Tokyo, Japan.  This volcanic archipelago is comprised of more than 30 islands. The Bonin Islands are also known as Ogasawara Guntō 小笠原群島 and are administered under the Tokyo Prefecture despite their distance from Tokyo and the larger islands of Japan.

The Bonin Islands in relation to Japan

Of the 30 islands that make up the Bonin Islands only two are inhabited.  Chichijima 父島 houses most of the islands' population with 2,000 people living there.  An additional 450 people live on the island of Hahajima 母島.  
Transportation to the islands is limited to boat travel via the Ogasawara Maru line.  Boats leave to Chichijima from Tokyo Harbor roughly once a week with a crossing time of 25 hours.  Boat service is increased in busy summer vacation months.  The Hahajima Maru runs trips connecting Chichijima and Hahajima several times a week.

The Ogasawara Maru
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At a latitude of about 26° N the islands experience a subtropical climate.  Temperatures do not vary much throughout the year with a mean annual temperature of 73° F (23° C).

The Bonin Islands have never been connected to a land mass and thus have undergone evolutionary processes in isolation.  Because of this isolation, the Bonin Islands are home to several unique ecosystems with several hundred endemic and endangered species of flora and fauna.  This has earned the Bonin Islands the nickname of "the Galapagos of the East".  The islands are also critical breeding habitat for several bird, sea turtle and cetacean species. The high level of endemism and crucial habitats has led UNESCO to declare the Bonin Islands as a World Heritage Site in 2011.

Jinny Beach
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