is an inhabited

volcanic A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...

island in the Izu archipelago in the

Philippine Sea The Philippine Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean east of the Philippine archipelago (hence the name), the largest in the world, occupying an estimated surface area of . The Philippine Sea Plate forms the floor of the sea. Its ...

approximately southeast of

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 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. 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 may refer to: Places * Miyajima, another name for the Japanese island Itsukushima * Miyajima, Hiroshima, a former town on this island, merged into Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima is a city located in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The name derives from a m ...

, an island in Hiroshima Bay. As there are many more speculations, the true origin cannot be known. Toga Shrine in Miyakejima

Geography

The island is a

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and per ...

with a granitic composite cone, dating from the late

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

period, between 10,000 and 2,000 years ago. The island has a roughly circular coastline, 88.3 kilometers in length, with an average diameter of eight kilometers. The highest elevation is an active volcano with a height of 759.390 meters. The mountain has been recorded to have erupted numerous times throughout history, and is mentioned as far back as

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from CE 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the cap ...

written records. Over the past 890 years, it has erupted 13 times, including five times since the start of the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

. A lava flow in 1940 killed 11 people, and other eruptions occurred in 1992 and 1983. On July 14, 2000, Mount Oyama began another series of eruptions, and by September, the island was completely evacuated. After a four-year period of volcanic emissions, residents were allowed to return permanently on February 1, 2005. After the eruption, there has been a constant flow of

sulfur dioxide Sulfur dioxide (IUPAC-recommended spelling) or sulphur dioxide (traditional Commonwealth English) is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a toxic gas responsible for the odor of burnt matches. It is released naturally by volcanic activ ...

gas coming from Mount Oyama. Residents of the island were once required to carry

gas mask A gas mask is a mask used to protect the wearer from inhaling airborne pollutants and toxic gases. The mask forms a sealed cover over the nose and mouth, but may also cover the eyes and other vulnerable soft tissues of the face. Most gas mask ...

s with them at all times. However, masks have not been needed for years. Alarms go off if there is a dramatic increase in the levels of toxic gases in the air. Volcanic gas emissions from this volcano are measured by a Multi-Component Gas Analyzer System, which detects pre-eruptive degassing of rising magmas, improving

prediction of volcanic activity Prediction of volcanic activity, or volcanic eruption forecasting, is an interdisciplinary monitoring and research effort to predict the time and severity of a volcano's eruption. Of particular importance is the prediction of hazardous eruptions t ...

Climate

Miyake-jima has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Cfa'') with very warm summers and mild winters. Precipitation is abundant throughout the year, but is somewhat lower in winter.

Flora and fauna

Miyake-jima is home to an unusually rich flora and fauna with several rare species of birds and animals, although its natural habitats are constantly under threat from human and volcanic activity. Underwater, the island is valued by divers for its coral reefs and marine fauna (including the dolphin population outside nearby Mikura-jima). The island has been recognised as an

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 Int ...

(IBA) by

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 ...

because it supports populations of

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 t ...

Japanese murrelet The Japanese murrelet or crested murrelet (''Synthliboramphus wumizusume'') is a small seabird in the auk family that occurs along the remote rocky coasts and in the offshore waters of Japan, and may also be found after the breeding season as far ...

Pleske's grasshopper warbler Styan's grasshopper warbler (''Helopsaltes pleskei''), also known as Pleske's grasshopper warbler and Taczanowski's warbler, is a species of Old World warbler in the family Locustellidae. It breeds in eastern Siberia to Korea, Kyushu and Izu Isl ...

Ijima's leaf-warbler Ijima's leaf warbler (''Phylloscopus ijimae'') (also known as Izu leaf warbler, Ijima's willow warbler or Ijima's warbler) is a species of Old World warbler in the family Phylloscopidae. The species is native to Japan, where it has been designat ...

s and

Izu thrush The Izu thrush or Izu Islands thrush (''Turdus celaenops'') is a bird of the thrush family native to Japan. Behavior Feeding Izu thrushes eat small animals, such as earthworms and insects, and fruits, like cherries or mullberries. Breeding ...

es (''akakokko'').

Administration

The island is administered by the Miyake subprefecture of the Tokyo Metropolitan government. As of June 1, 2016, the population of the island was 2451. serves as the local government of the island, and also includes nearby tiny uninhabited Ōnoharajima west south-west of Miyake-jima. Miyake village consists of the five traditional hamlets of Izu, Kamitsuki, Igaya, Ako and Tsubota, with Tsubota on the southeast coast as the administrative center. Flag of Miyake, Tokyo

Access

The island is accessible by an over-night ferry called the ''Tachibana Maru (橘丸)'', which is operated by Tōkai Kisen. The ferry departs from Takeshiba Pier, near

Hamamatsuchō Station is a railway station in Hamamatsuchō, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and also by Tokyo Monorail. Lines Hamamatsuchō Station is served by two JR East lines: the circular Yamanote Line and Keihin-Tōhok ...

, Tokyo at 22:30 and arrives at Miyakejima at 5:00. Depending on the wind and weather conditions, the ''Tachibana Maru'' will dock at one of three ports; Miike Port Pier (三池港桟橋), Igaya Port (伊ヶ谷港), or Sabigahama Port (錆ヶ浜港). The port where the boat will dock is not predictable and changes on a daily basis. Generally, the boat will arrive at a port that is complementary with the wind direction. A second large passenger ship named ''Sarubia Maru (さるびあ丸)'' will also start servicing Miyake-jima on June 25th, 2020.'' Tachibana-Maru

There are flights connecting

Miyakejima Airport is an airport located east of Miyake villageAIS Japan
on the island of

Haneda Airport with an approximate flying time of 50 minutes. Flights are also operated from Chofu Airport. The area is prone to high volume of sulfuric gas and flights were suspended for almost eight years after the July 14, 2000 volcano eruption. Flights resumed during April 2008, after sulfuric gases in the air dropped to levels below 0.2ppm. There is a helicopter that arrives via Izu Ōshima. There are also two helicopter flights operated by Tokyo Island Shuttle which originate in

Aogashima is a volcanic island to the south of Japan in northernmost Micronesia. It is the southernmost and most isolated inhabited island of the Izus, which are politically and administratively part of Japan but geographically not part of the Japanese ...

and Izu Ōshima and fly to

Toshima is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the eight central wards of the Tokyo Metropolitan area. Located in the northern area of Tokyo, Toshima is bordered by the wards of Nerima, Itabashi, and Kita in the north and Nakano, Shinjuku, a ...

, Miyake-jima, Mikura-jima, Hachijō-jima and

. There are two bus routes on the island. Both bus routes service the same stops, but one route goes clockwise and the other route goes counter-clockwise. The time between each bus stop arrival can vary greatly from a few minutes to up to 3 hours.https://www.miyakejima.gr.jp/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/basjikokuhyou20180501.pdf Miyake-jima Bus Stop

References

* ''Teikoku's Complete Atlas of Japan'', Teikoku-Shoin., Ltd. Tokyo 1990,

External links

Miyake Village Official Website

- Japan Meteorological Agency * - Japan Meteorological Agency

- Geological Survey of Japan * {{Authority control Izu Islands Stratovolcanoes of Japan Active volcanoes Islands of Tokyo Volcanoes of Tokyo Important Bird Areas of the Nanpo Islands Seabird colonies Holocene stratovolcanoes