Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 1
THE ŌSUMI ISLANDS
大隈諸島
Ancient outcrops, modern space-
port
1
Tanegashima
種子島
2
Mageshima
馬毛島
3
Yakushima
屋久島
4
Kuchinoerabujima
口永良部島
5
Takeshima
竹島
6
Iōjima
硫黄島
7
Kuroshima
黒島
The northernmost group of the Satsunan Archipelago, the Ōsumi Islands (
大隈諸島
; Ōsumi-
shotō), lie about 37 miles (60 kilometers) south of Kyushu Island's southern tip, the Ōsumi
Peninsula. The islands are volcanic in origin and have a combined area of 400 square miles
(1,035 square kilometers). Altogether there are seven inhabited islands and several tiny named
uninhabited ones. The island chain's total population is around 52,000, with about 18,000 liv-
ing in Nishinoomote on Tanegashima.
There are two airports on the Ōsumi Islands, one each on the two largest islands of Taneg-
ashima and Yakushima, and an airstrip and unmanned control tower on the island of Iōjima.
The latter is kept in good working order and used by air charter services. Almost all the islands
(and this is true throughout the Ryukyus) also sport a helicopter landing pad, but these are
generally only used for emergency medical evacuations or other government purposes, not for
commercial services.
More usually, both Tanegashima and Yakushima are reached by regular and frequent ferry
service from the north out of Kagoshima City. Ferries, which carry passengers, vehicles and
cargo, take about four hours. High-speed jetfoils, which don't carry vehicles or cargo, take
about two. There are also passenger and vehicle ferries but not high-speed hydrofoils from Ka-
