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Mikura-jima
is a volcanic Japanese island in the Pacific Ocean. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Izu Shotō'',"''Japan Encyclopedia,'' p. 412. The island is administered by Tōkyō Metropolis and is located approximately south of Tokyo and south-southeast of Miyake-shima. It is one of the Izu Seven Islands group of the seven northern islands of the Izu archipelago. Mikurashima is administratively part of Mikurashima Village under Miyake Subprefecture of Tokyo Metropolis. , the island's population was 351. Mikura-shima is also within the boundaries of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. History The island has apparently been inhabited for thousands of years, but existing records only extend to the Edo period. Mikura, along with the rest of the Izu Islands, was designated as a place of exile during the Tokugawa shogunate, and up to 10% of current island residents are descendants of political exiles.Otake, Tomoko,A place of refuge for exiles and foreign wayfarers, ''Japan Times'', 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mikura-jima
is a volcanic Japanese island in the Pacific Ocean. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Izu Shotō'',"''Japan Encyclopedia,'' p. 412. The island is administered by Tōkyō Metropolis and is located approximately south of Tokyo and south-southeast of Miyake-shima. It is one of the Izu Seven Islands group of the seven northern islands of the Izu archipelago. Mikurashima is administratively part of Mikurashima Village under Miyake Subprefecture of Tokyo Metropolis. , the island's population was 351. Mikura-shima is also within the boundaries of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. History The island has apparently been inhabited for thousands of years, but existing records only extend to the Edo period. Mikura, along with the rest of the Izu Islands, was designated as a place of exile during the Tokugawa shogunate, and up to 10% of current island residents are descendants of political exiles.Otake, Tomoko,A place of refuge for exiles and foreign wayfarers, ''Japan Times'', 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miyake-jima
is an inhabited volcanic island in the Izu archipelago in the Philippine Sea approximately southeast of Tokyo, Japan. As with the other islands in the Izu Island group, Miyake-jima forms part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. Etymology There are many theories about the origin of Miyake-jima's name. One theory claims a manuscript about the island's genesis called the ''Miyakeki'' (三宅記), written by a Shinto priest from the island, influenced the name. The manuscript explains how a deity, ''Mashima (三嶋)'', constructed his palace on the island after having built two other houses on neighbouring islands. Each of the houses had their backs facing the palace, thus giving a lined up impression. This belief is known as the 'three house theory'. Another hypothesis says that the shrines on Miyake-jima are historically related to those on Miyajima, an island in Hiroshima Bay. As there are many more speculations, the true origin cannot be known. Geography The island is a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Izu Islands
The are a group of volcanic islands stretching south and east from the Izu Peninsula of Honshū, Japan. Administratively, they form two towns and six villages; all part of Tokyo Prefecture. The largest is Izu Ōshima, usually called simply Ōshima. Although usually called the " Seven Islands of Izu" ( 伊豆七島 in Japanese), there are in fact more than a dozen islands and islets. Nine among them are currently inhabited. Geography The Izu islands stretch south-east from the Izu Peninsula on Honshu and cover an area of approximately . There are nine populated islands with a total population of 24,645 people () spread over . The largest of them is Izu Oshima (8,346 inhabitants, ), the smallest Toshima (292 inhabitants, .) Of the inhabited islands, seven are traditionally referred to as the "Izu Seven": Oshima, Toshima, Niijima, Kozujima, Miyakejima, Hachijojima, and Mikurajima, though Shikinejima and Aogashima are sometimes included as well. Each of the islands has its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whale Watching
Whale watching is the practice of observing whales and dolphins ( cetaceans) in their natural habitat. Whale watching is mostly a recreational activity (cf. birdwatching), but it can also serve scientific and/or educational purposes.Hoyt, E. 2009. Whale watching. In Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, 2nd Edition (Perrin, W.F., B. Würsig and J.G.M. Thewissen, eds.) Academic Press, San Diego, CA., pp1219-1223. A study prepared for International Fund for Animal Welfare in 2009 estimated that 13 million people went whale watching globally in 2008. Whale watching generates $2.1 billion per annum in tourism revenue worldwide, employing around 13,000 workers.O’Connor, S., Campbell, R., Cortez, H., & Knowles, T., 2009, Whale Watching Worldwide: tourism numbers, expenditures and expanding economic benefits, a special report from the International Fund for Animal Welfare, Yarmouth MA, USA, prepared by Economists at Large. http://www.ifaw.org/whalewatchingworldwide The size and rapid grow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 million residents ; the city proper has a population of 13.99 million people. Located at the head of Tokyo Bay, the prefecture forms part of the Kantō region on the central coast of Honshu, Japan's largest island. Tokyo serves as Japan's economic center and is the seat of both the Japanese government and the Emperor of Japan. Originally a fishing village named Edo, the city became politically prominent in 1603, when it became the seat of the Tokugawa shogunate. By the mid-18th century, Edo was one of the most populous cities in the world with a population of over one million people. Following the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the imperial capital in Kyoto was moved to Edo, which was renamed "Tokyo" (). Tokyo was devastate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park
is a national park in Yamanashi, Shizuoka, and Kanagawa Prefectures, and western Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. It consists of Mount Fuji, Fuji Five Lakes, Hakone, the Izu Peninsula, and the Izu Islands. Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park covers . Rather than being a specific spot, the park is a collection of dispersed tourist sites that dot the region. The farthest point south, the isle of Hachijō-jima, is several hundred kilometers from Mount Fuji. The park includes a variety of geographic features including natural hot springs, coastlines, mountainous areas, lakes, and more than 1000 volcanic islands. Vegetation in the park ranges from species of mountainous trees to the subtropical vegetation of the Izu Islands. Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park was established on February 2, 1936, as Fuji-Hakone National Park, and is one of the first four national parks established in Japan. In 1950, the Izu islands were added to the park, and its name changed to its present designation. Due to its prox ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Islands Of Japan
Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands, of which approximately 260 are inhabited. Japan is the largest island country in East Asia and the fourth largest in the world. Main islands The four ''main islands'' of Japan are:Imperial Japanese Commission to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. (1903)''Japan in the Beginning of the 20th century'' (Haruki Yamawaki, editor), p. 2 *Hokkaido - the northernmost and second largest main island. *Honshu - the largest and most populous island with the capital Tokyo. *Kyushu - the third largest main island and nearest to the Asian continent. *Shikoku - the smallest main island, it is between Honshu and Kyushu. Hokkaido prefecture * Ōshima * Okushiri Island * Teuri Island * Rebun Island * Rishiri Island * Yagishiri Island *Kamome island Islands of Honshu in the Sea of Japan * Awashima Island, Niigata * Kanmurijima * Kutsujima, Kyoto * Mitsukejima * Nanatsujima archipelago * Notojima * Oki Islands (Oki Islands) Ponsonby-Fane, Richard ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calanthe Izu-insularis
''Calanthe'', commonly known as Christmas orchids, is a genus of about 220 species of orchids in the family Orchidaceae. They are evergreen or deciduous terrestrial plants with thick roots, small oval pseudobulbs, large corrugated leaves and upright, sometimes arching flowering stems. The sepals and petals are narrow and a similar size to each other and the labellum usually has spreading lobes. Description Orchids in the genus ''Calanthe'' are terrestrial with small, crowded pseudobulbs with thick roots and a few corrugated or wrinkled leaves with the base tapering to a petiole-like stalk. Some species are evergreen while others are deciduous. The flowers are delicate but showy, white, pink, yellow or orange and crowded near the end of an erect, sometimes arching flowering stem. The sepals and petals are relatively narrow, similar in size and spread widely. The labellum has three or four spreading lobes and in most species there is a spur at the base. Unlike similar orchids, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International. There are over 13,000 IBAs worldwide. These sites are small enough to be entirely conserved and differ in their character, habitat or ornithological importance from the surrounding habitat. In the United States the Program is administered by the National Audubon Society. Often IBAs form part of a country's existing protected area network, and so are protected under national legislation. Legal recognition and protection of IBAs that are not within existing protected areas varies within different countries. Some countries have a National IBA Conservation Strategy, whereas in others protection is completely lacking. History In 1985, following a specific request from the European Economic Community, Birdlife International ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding important sites for birds, maintaining and restoring key bird habitats, and empowering conservationists worldwide. It has a membership of more than 2.5 million people across 116 country partner organizations, including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Wild Bird Society of Japan, the National Audubon Society and American Bird Conservancy. BirdLife International has identified 13,000 Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas and is the official International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List authority for birds. As of 2015, BirdLife International has established that 1,375 bird species (13% of the total) are threatened with extinction ( critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable). BirdLife International p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Wood Pigeon
The Japanese wood pigeon (''Columba janthina'') is a species of columbid bird. It is found in East Asia along shorelines of the Pacific's Korea Strait, Philippine Sea and East China Sea. They are believed to be the largest representative of their genus, '' Columba'', at 550 grams (1.2 lb) and 43 cm (17 in). Its natural habitats are temperate forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. The species is in decline owing to habitat loss, habitat degradation, deforestation and hunting. This wood pigeon is endemic to the laurel forest habitat. Description The largest pigeon in the East Asia region, with a length of between 37 cm to 40 cm long and sometimes 43.5 cm. The head is small. There is at least three subspecies of Columba janthina, with some plumage differences. It is very dark in appearance, with a small head, a longish neck and tail. Overall the body is soot-black with iridescent green or purple on crown, shoulders and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Streaked Shearwater
The streaked shearwater (''Calonectris leucomelas'') is a species of seabird. The adult bird averages in length, with a wingspan. Description The streaked shearwater feeds mainly on fish and squid. It follows fishing boats, attracted to anchovy crawls off Japan and has been known to be taken as by-catch in nets or drowned when ingesting the bait on long-line fishing lines. The streaked shearwater nests in burrows. It prefers forested hills. This bird is abundant and widespread; however, some mortality occurs through becoming entangled in fishing nets, and from some predation by cats and rats. In addition, it is harvested by some traditional endemic human cultures. Distribution This species is pelagic, but is also found in inshore waters. It occurs in the Pacific Ocean, nesting in Japan and the Korean Peninsula, predominantly on their offshore islands. After breeding, the streaked shearwater migrate south, feeding in the seas off northern New Guinea, the Arafura Sea, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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