World Heritage property

The Ogasawara Islands are located about 1,000 km away from Tokyo to the south. They consist of about 30 islands of varying sizes that are surrounded by vertical cliffs and sea whose azure blue color is referred to as “Bonin Blue."* The World Heritage property encompasses the Mukojima Island Group, the Chichijima Island Group, the Hahajima Island Group, Kita-iwoto Island, Minami-iwoto Island, and Nishinoshima Island, which has a total area of roughly 7,900 ha. For Chichijima and Hahajima Islands, a boundary that excludes settlements and some of the peripheral ocean areas surrounding them constitute the bounds of the World Heritage property.

*The Ogasawara Islands did not have any permanent residents until 1830, and so they were referred to as uninhabited islands (Bonin Islands).