is a small, sparsely populated

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

in the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...

, northwest of

Haboro Bay is a List of towns in Japan, town located in Rumoi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. As of September 2016, the town has an estimated population of 7,338. The total area is 472.49 km2. The town also administers the two islands of Yagishiri Is ...

in Haboro,

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

. The island, along with neighboring Teuri Island on its west side, belongs to the town of Haboro in

Rumoi Subprefecture is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. As of 2011, it had a population of 52,627 and an area of . The population density of the subprefecture, 13 people per km2, is very low compared to the rest of Japan. The population of Rumoi Subpr ...

. It is noted for its dense forests; fully two-thirds of it remains forested.

History

Yagishiri Island, like nearby Teuri, became a base for the fishing of

Pacific herring The Pacific herring (''Clupea pallasii'') is a species of the herring family associated with the Pacific Ocean environment of North America and northeast Asia. It is a silvery fish with unspined fins and a deeply forked caudal fin. The distribut ...

beginning in 1786. In the modern period Yagishiri Island has seen a long-term population decline: in 1947 there were 2,283 residents, by 1972 the number had fallen to 1,073, and in 2010 the population had fallen to 273.

Geography

Yagishiri is located east of Teuri Island, and the two islands are separated by the

Musashi Channel is a Japanese name, which may refer to: People *, Japanese master swordsman, painter, and author of ''The Book of Five Rings'' *, Japanese science fiction writer *, Japanese former professional footballer *, Japanese retired kickboxer *, Wush ...

. The island is approximately long from east to west, from north to south, and covers . It has a coastline of roughly . Yagishiri is flatter than nearby Teuri, and reaches an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

at its center of only . Yagishiri Island is primarily composed of Tertiary-period

andesite Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predomi ...

formed into a four

marine terrace A raised beach, coastal terrace,Pinter, N (2010): 'Coastal Terraces, Sealevel, and Active Tectonics' (educational exercise), from 2/04/2011/ref> or perched coastline is a relatively flat, horizontal or gently inclined surface of marine origin,P ...

s, some with significant marine

cliff In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on co ...

Climate

Yagishiritō Lighthouse

The island has a single

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

, Yagishiritō Lighthouse, located above sea level just south of the small

Port of Yagishiri A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

. The lighthouse is a

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

structure, painted white, and was constructed in February 1913. The Yagishiritō Lighthouse has an intensity of 7,000

candela The candela ( or ; symbol: cd) is the unit of luminous intensity in the International System of Units (SI). It measures luminous power per unit solid angle emitted by a light source in a particular direction. Luminous intensity is analogous to ...

Forest of Yagishiri

Yagishiri Island is noted for its dense forest. The island was once completely covered with trees, but major parts of the forest were used for housing and other construction with the start of the trade of Pacific herring in the late 18th century. A prohibition was put in place on the cutting of trees on the island in 1880 to prevent the complete deforestation of the island. Shortly afterward, in 1886, two thirds of the forest of Yagishiri was lost to a fire. The island has been significantly reforested, with the Uguisu Valley in the center of the island remaining untouched by development or fire. Climatic conditions on the Japan Sea keep the

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...

of the forest, specifically in the Uguisu Valley, as low as , and the trunks of various species of trees in the forest are correspondingly thick. The forest is homes to 50 species of trees, but Yagishiri Island is noted for its unspoiled stands of ''

Taxus cuspidata ''Taxus cuspidata'', the Japanese yew or spreading yew, is a member of the genus ''Taxus'', native to Japan, Korea, northeast China and the extreme southeast of Russia. It is an evergreen tree or large shrub growing to 10–18 m tall, with a tru ...

'', the Japanese yew. The forest of Yagishiri is a protected natural monument of Japan, and the entirety of the island is protected as a part of

Shokanbetsu-Teuri-Yagishiri Quasi-National Park is a quasi-national park in Hokkaidō, Japan.List of Quasi-National Parks
...

Transportation

Yagishiri Island is connected by two

ferries A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water tax ...

to the port at Haburo. The island is reached by the ''Ororon 2'' in 60 minutes, and the ''Sanraina'' in 35 minutes. In winter is served by one trip per day by the ''Orororan 2'', and at the peak tourist season in August the ferries each run three times per day. A single road, the , circles the island.

References

External links

Yagishiri Island, Haboro Tourism Organization

The Forests of Yagishiri, Hokkaido Tourism Organization
{{Authority control Islands of the Sea of Japan Islands of Hokkaido