Hello Hahajima!
A two-hour voyage takes me from Chichijima to Hahajima, from Father Island to Mother Island.
If you thought Chichijima was a quiet town of 2,000 people, it's an absolute hopping city compared to the more rural Hahajima, who have about 500 residents, mostly concentrated around the south of the island.
There used to be more than 2,000 residents here but after the war, they were relocated to the mainland, and when America returned the Ogasawara islands to Japan, not everyone came back.
Many rare species of animal and plant life exist on Hahajima and her fellow islands of the Ogasawara chain. The endemic species are often threatened by non-native creatures and plants that were brought over by troops and other travelers from the old days. So the challenge is to eliminate the non-native threats to the islands' ecology while helping the almost extinct endemic birds, butterfly and plants to repopulate.
We took a drive to see the various parts of the Hahajima island north of the populated south village. Most of it is protected forest, and the views of places like Big Bay and Long Bay are awesome.
It was a little surreal to see remnants of the vacant northern village of Hahajima. In a span of a few decades, the old thriving north village is now covered by forest, the only reminders of the once-active agricultural and fishing northern village are parts of an old school and Kita port.
We also saw some old military installations like a WWII-era Japanese searchlight base. I wonder what stories this searchlight base had to tell.
One of the things people say you should do on Hahajima is nothing. There is a very relaxing vibe on the island and besides the view and the exotic nature here, I have to say the fresh air and rural setting certainly does make me feel like just chilling out.
As the sun sets, I will enjoy doing nothing for the next few hours now.
#TokyoReporter #Tamashima #Tokyo #Ogasawara
#travel #mrbrowntravels
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