Just 350 kilometers south of Tokyo is an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Her name is Aogashima. What makes this island private is actually the crater of an active volcano who is smoking alongside 200 souls who have built houses around it.
Aogashima, this inhabited island is located south of the Japanese archipelago of Izu. It consists of an outer crater that is still the island's perimeter while a second crater is also inside. Two volcanoes at the price of one, still active.
In addition, Aogashima volcano is considered one of "C class" by the Japan Meteorological Agency. However, it last erupted in 1780, but it was so powerful that it killed almost half of the island's population at that time. Survivors fled immediately and only fifty years after the disaster, other people came to settle there. According to the latest census, conducted in 2009, 205 people live on the island despite the risk.
Fully isolated, Aogashima Island is only accessible by boat, due to the steep cliffs of the volcano, no port can be built. Another way is to visit the island with a helicopter on Hachijojima's "neighbor" island, 60 km away.
Helicopters have been available in the area since 1993, before food and other needs were transported by boat, and people living here had no way of knowing when the next shipment arrives. Now, the helicopter travels from the island once a day for up to 9 passengers in the cabin; In days of dense fog, this transport becomes impossible.
As a source of heat, people use geothermal energy in the volcano. With the same energy, they even have the ability to cook very simple food. Most of the food is provided by the island itself (fish, vegetables, etc.).
Among the other resources of the island is hingya - salt, a high - quality salt used in some Japanese cuisines. It is produced in a small factory located on the edge of the Kuroshio interior crater. It is rich in minerals and calcium, crystallizes slowly over several weeks due to volcanic vapors.
Despite the distance to what civilization means, Aogashima is regularly visited by tourists who come for a bit of peace and quiet in the hot springs of the island. It also gives us tropical, picturesque landscapes especially at night. Tropical fauna and flora create a fairy tale landscape.
