Qualla: Izu Islands

Izu Islands: Introduction

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

On Miyake-jima, residents are required to carry gas masks. The volcano that dominates the island erupted in 2000, forcing a complete evacuation. When islanders were allowed to return in February 2005, the condition was simple: keep a gas mask within reach at all times, in case the mountain starts venting again. It is the kind of detail that captures the essential character of the Izu Islands -- a chain of volcanic islands stretching southeast from the Izu Peninsula into the Philippine Sea, all of them technically part of Tokyo Prefecture, all of them shaped by the restless geology of the Izu-Bonin-Mariana Arc. The Japanese call them the Seven Islands of Izu, though there are actually more than a dozen islands and islets. Nine are currently inhabited, with a combined population of about 24,645 people spread across communities that range from Izu Oshima's 8,346 residents to tiny Toshima's 292.

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Izu Islands: Tokyo's Volcanic Frontier

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The Izu Islands occupy the northern portion of the Izu-Bonin-Mariana Arc, the same tectonic structure that extends south to Mount Fuji and the Izu Peninsula on the Honshu mainland, ending at a tectonic triple junction. Volcanic activity is not occasional here -- it is the definin...

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Izu Islands: Islands of Exile

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The practice dates to the 12th century, possibly earlier. During the Edo period, the Tokugawa Shogunate formalized the system, designating Nii-jima, Miyake-jima, and Hachijo-jima as places of criminal exile. Convicts were shipped south from the mainland and left on these remote v...

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Izu Islands: A Laboratory at Sea

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The Izu Islands formed relatively recently in geological terms -- within the past few million years -- as oceanic islands with no land bridge to the mainland. Unlike truly remote archipelagos such as Hawaii or the Galapagos, the Izu chain sits close enough to Honshu that species ...

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Izu Islands: Five Airports, One Archipelago

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Getting to the Izu Islands from Tokyo takes 30 minutes by air, about two hours by jetfoil hydrofoil, or seven to ten hours by conventional ferry. Five airports serve the chain, supplemented by 15 harbors and 19 fishing ports. Helicopter connections reach islands too small for run...

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Izu Islands: Contested Rocks and Distant Claims

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The administrative structure of the Izu Islands reflects Japan's broader approach to remote territory. Three subprefectures -- Oshima, Miyake, and Hachijo -- organize the islands as branch offices of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. Two towns (Oshima and Hachijojima) and six vi...

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