is a town located in Ōshima Subprefecture,

Tokyo Metropolis 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. , the town had an estimated population of 7,762, and a population density of 85.5 persons per km². Its total area is .

Geography

Ōshima Town covers the island of Izu Ōshima, in the Izu archipelago in the Philippine Sea, south of central Tokyo.

Climate

History

Mount Mihara on Izu Oshima in Japan - 2016-03-26 C

It is uncertain when human settlement first began on Ōshima, but archaeological finds from the

Jōmon period The is the time in Japanese history, traditionally dated between 6,000–300 BCE, during which Japan was inhabited by a diverse hunter-gatherer and early agriculturalist population united through a common Jōmon culture, which reached a c ...

have been discovered, and the island is mention from early

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 capi ...

documents. It is mentioned in historical records for its many volcanic eruptions. After the start of the Meiji period, in 1878, the island came under the control of

Tokyo-fu 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 ...

and was organized into six villages (Okada, Motomura, Senzu, Nomashi, Sashikiji and Habuminato) under Oshima subprefecture on April 1, 1908. The six villages were merged to form Ōshima Town on April 1, 1955. In the mid-1930s, Izu Ōshima became a popular suicide destination after three schoolgirls jumped into the active volcano in the center of the island. In 1935 alone, more than 800 suicides were recorded. The central volcano on the island,

Mount Mihara is an active volcano on the Japanese isle of Izu Ōshima. Although the volcano is predominantly basaltic, major eruptions have occurred at intervals of 100–150 years. Background Mount Mihara's major eruption in 1986 saw lava fountains up to ...

erupted in 1965 and again in 1986, forcing the temporary evacuation of the inhabitants. On 16 October 2013, Typhoon Wipha passed over the island, dropping of rain in 24 hours and causing a landslide that killed 35 people.

Economy

Fishing and seasonal tourism are the mainstays of the economy of Ōshima.

Transportation

Airport

* Ōshima Airport

Harbor

* Port of Okada * Port of Motomachi

Education

Ōshima town operates three public elementary schools and three public middle schools. The Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education operated two high schools. Ōshima High School is an agriculture school known for producing baseball players, and Ōshima International Maritime Academy is a marine biology school. Ōshima High School is attended primarily by children native to the island. Ōshima International Maritime Academy draws students from mainland Tokyo and neighboring Izu in order to participate in its marine biology program.

Sister city relations

- Hilo, Hawaii, United States

Local attractions

The island is known for its Camellia Festival, Hanabi Festival, five black sand beaches, and several

onsen In Japan, are the country's hot springs and the bathing facilities and traditional inns around them. As a volcanically active country, Japan has many onsens scattered throughout all of its major islands. There are approximately 25,000 hot ...

References

External links

Ōshima Town Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oshima, Tokyo Towns in Tokyo Populated coastal places in Japan