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mrbrown goes to the Ogasawara Islands

A week in 小笠原群島: A Home for Nature

By Kin Mun "mrbrown" Lee

November 8^th, 2016

“Would you like to go to the Ogasawara Islands?” they asked me.

“WHERE?” I asked my hosts from Japan.

“They are a body of islands governed Tokyo, and the only way to get there was by a ferry,” they told me.

Being curious, I agreed to go.

“We hope you don’t get seasick, it is a thousand kilometres away” they helpfully offer, as they booked my passage.

WAIT WHAT?

All Aboard!

The journey to Ogasawara (also known as the Bonin Islands) would take 24 hours by ferry from Tokyo. It was a 1,000km journey. There is no airport, no flight, no train, to this group of islands. Just one long 24-hour voyage.

I was not quite sure what to expect. I have been on ships before, like that 12-hour voyage from Sweden to Germany a few years back. And I used to even repair Outboard Motors for assault boats in my National Service days, so I don’t really get seasick.

When I saw the inside of my ferry, which was a fairly new one (the older vessel was decommissioned two months ago, fondly missed by the residents of the islands), I was somewhat relieved. The ferry was clean, bright and modern.

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This is what my bed looks like on the ferry. If you want a little tour you can view the little video I made.

You quickly learn to find things to do, to pass the time. Sometimes you would check out the views and gorgeous sunsets. Or read. Or sleep. Or eat.

I actually found it pleasant to have this much free time without the Internet. But I confess that whenever the ship went by some of the islands along the way, and there was a cell phone signal, I would get very excited and dash from my berth to the open decks to see if I could go online.

Some of these views are breathtaking. You haven’t lived till you’ve seen sunrises and sunsets at sea.

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My meals on board were surprisingly pleasant. I particularly enjoyed the apple pie with ice-cream. Oh, that Salted Caramel soft-serve was also good. I could not resist having it a few times.

Welcome to Chichijima

After 24 hours at sea, with next to no internet, you finally reach this island paradise. The islands are home to many rare and endangered plants and animals, many of which are endemic to the islands. If you love to surf, snorkel or dive, this is heaven. Hiking too, is a joy here.

A snorkeling Heaven

I really loved the snorkeling here. There is so much to see underwater. That is me in the photo, taken by my travelling companion, Henry Lo (thanks Henry!).

Little George was the captain of our boat. He spoke English and was a really colorful character. A native of the islands, he really knew his waters. I really enjoyed my time on his boat.

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Hiking the Sanctuary

The two main islands are Chichijima (Father Island) and the quieter Hahajima (Mother Island). There are protected areas in the forests here to ensure the rare endemic plant and flora and birds can survive and thrive.

You need to go through a process of cleaning your shoes with vinegar and sticky-brushing your clothing and bags, before entering the protected forests so that you don‘t accidentally bring unwanted non-native seeds and plants into the sanctuaries that may harm the wildlife in there.

Our great guides, Ludy-san and Yoshino-san showed us how to prepare ourselves before entering the sanctuary. I liked this process a lot. It made me very conscious of how fragile an ecosystem can be.

I kinda felt like Indiana Jones here, hiking through the forests. Every few steps, I would discover a little treasure: a special plant, an unusual tree, a rare bird.

The story of the goats

In the course of hiking Chichijima, we spotted a goat. And then an entire herd of goats. It seems goats are another menace to the ecosystem here. They are an alien species to the Ogasawara Islands, and were brought over as food in the past, but have since become feral, feeding on the endemic plants and trampling the ground, exposing bare soil.

The goat population has gone down over years as eradication efforts were carried out, but they are still there, causing problems for the endemic plant life on the islands.

Still, it is quite a sight to see goats just grazing by the coast. It is almost like they are also on an island vacation.

The Story of the REd-Headed WOOd Pigeon

This red-headed wood pigeon is one of the almost extinct creatures endemic to these islands. We were very very lucky to encounter one and photograph it. My local guides tell me they see it only a handful of times in a year and they live and work here.

Look at that bird. Look at how beautiful it is. Think about why it almost became extinct. Because of cats.

I am not kidding. Cats. Feral cats, descendants of cats brought to the islands as pets but were abandoned when residents were forced to evacuated during World War Two.

These abandoned pet cats then became wild and feral, and became natural predators of indigenous rare birds like the red-headed wood pigeon, who never had a natural predator before the feral cats came.

But how could a bunch of cure pussy cats kill off a bird that can fly?

I was told that the red-headed wood pigeon was used to walking around the forest because it did not have any natural enemies, until these feral cats came along and started attacking them.

My first thought was, “Stupid pigeons, why are you walking around?” but that is nature for you. They were fine until a new non-native creature was introduced into their world. You can’t really blame them for choosing to walk around the forest like it was a safe neighbourhood.

This is why you may see cages like this in the forests, designed to catch feral cats and also rats (they came on ships hiding in the the crates). And also to catch another destructive alien species, the anole, a kind of lizard.

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Chilling out at USK Coffee

There is also time to enjoy the island life, chilling at absolutely laid back places like USK Coffee, whose owner, Yusuke-san, grows his own Bonin coffee in the farm that the converted Airstream coffee shop sits on.

Yusuke-san, father of a cute little girl, came to the islands because of his passion for coffee and to grow this very coffee bean. He made many of the fixtures himself, and his coffee joint has a great vibe. If I could, I would spend all day just hanging out here, writing my next novel, drinking his coffee and eating the desserts his wife makes.

I also had tea made from the fruit of the Bonin coffee tree. It had an interesting taste.

From the Father island (Chichijima) to the mother island (Hahajima)

Hahajima (Mother Island) used to have about 2,000 inhabitants. It is about 500 now. Chichijima (Father Island) has about 2,000 people now, when it used to have a few times more than that, around 8,000 residents. After the war, and after America took the islands, the residents were evacuated to the mainland. When Japan got the islands back, not everyone returned.

I am sorry that my elbows look so dirty in this photo of me in Hahajima. My mother always complained that I didn’t scrub my elbows enough when I showered.

You can see parts of Hahajima, especially in the north, where a settlement used to be. That once thriving village is gone now, covered in jungle, an unused port hinting at its former significance.

This used to be a busy pier when Hahajima had more residents. It is a quiet place now.

These steps are what is left of a school that used to serve the northern village of Hahajima.

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I know it is hard to imagine this, but this was the main street of the northern village in Hahajima. It was a thriving downtown area in the old days, when farmers on this island made a nice living supplying rice and other produce to the mainland.

All that is left now is jungle, claiming the land back for itself.

Hahajima may be the quieter of the two main islands, but it has its own rustic charm. Chichijima is almost like New York City compared to Hahajima. I know, Chichijima already seems very laid back, but it is like a bustling downtown if you spend time on Hahajima.

I even found an old coin phone at the quaint Ross Museum. I could not resist taking a photo with it.

We stayed in a cozy little inn called Craft Inn La Mere on Hahajima, and my room had a staircase to a loft bed. At night, I ventured out to the beach and looked at the sunset.

Nearby was a teacher’s quarters, where teachers assigned to teach on the island’s school lived. I believe there are about 45 kids studying on this island of 500 people. The elementary and high school are under one principal and they have a very high teacher-to-student ratio in both schools. For a school field trip, the kids get to hike through a forest to one of the beaches on the island. And I saw some of these kids climbing a tree just for fun. Not a bad life for a Hahajima kid, I think.

There is a ferry service that runs between Chichijima and Hahajima, about 120 minutes journey. But to get back to Tokyo, you still have to depart from the larger ferry on Hahajima.

This sign on Hahajima tells you to be quiet so as not to frighten the rare Bonin Honeyeater bird, the Meguro (Apalopteron familiare). The Meguro is an endemic species that can only be found on Hahajima and every effort is made to protect the little fella. Including having a giant “Shhh” sign like this.

An old Japanese army searchlight base rests in a cave overlooking the coast of Hahajima. This relic is a reminder of the island’s past as a military outpost. Every night, the soldiers would push this searchlight out to the edge, and turn it on to look for enemy ships.

It is never Sayonara

When it is time to leave the islands, you get a rousing send off by the residents. It is a custom here to never say “goodbye”. It‘s never Sayonara but Itterasshai (See you later) in the Ogasawara Islands.

The Ferry is a Big Deal on this island. It takes residents to the Tokyo, the mainland and beyond. It brings guests like us to the island. It is a source of food and supplies, of mail and packages. And because it does not come daily, but once a week (twice a week during peak season), every arrival and departure is precious and met with great anticipation.

Residents cheer and wave when the Ogasawara Maru ferry departs. Boats follow as far as they can and the occupants wave and some jump into the waters. It is such a cheerful display of community. You don’t get a sense that it is staged at all, but a sincere expression of friendship.

As I settled into my bed to begin my 24-hour voyage back to Tokyo, I felt a pang of longing in my heart. I realized that I was already missing the Ogasawara Islands and my new friends there. Ittekimasu, Ogasawara Islands! Please wait for me, for I shall return.

Special thanks to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government for sponsoring this trip. This trip is part of the “Tokyo Sightseeing Promoting Project”. For more information, please visit tokyoreporter.jp

Footnotes

Images made with Fuji X-Pro2 and Stylus TG-4 Tough

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FootNotes

Images made with Fuji X-Pro2 and Stylus TG-4 Tough

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