Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The small Oki Daitōjima (
沖大東島
; Oki Daitō-jima) was historically known as Rasa Island
(
ラサ島
; Rasa-shima; lit. “Flat Island”). Now called Oki, which means “offshore,” Daitōjima
is the smallest of the three Daitōs. It's no longer or wider than a little more than a kilometer
in any given direction and its total area is only 0.444 square miles (1.15 square kilometers).
Its shape is almost the same as Kita Daitōjima, the bottom portion of an oval cut in half. The
island is uninhabited and there is no commercial service to it.
Japan has exercised sovereignty over Oki Daitō since the end of the 19th century. The is-
land was commercially mined for phosphate ore deposits, and thereby populated, during the
first half of the 20th century, up until World War II. Under American control in the postwar
years, it's been used as a shooting and bombing range by the US military. For this reason, the
island has no trees and travel to it is prohibited. There is much possible unexploded ordnance
on the island.
That completes our look at the Daitō Islands, and our look at the whole of the Ryukyu
Island Archipelago. As we've seen in our coverage of these several hundred islands, there are
many beautiful places in this part of southern Japan. To see these islands all it takes is time
and, since this is Japan, some money. It also takes the desire to see this interesting part of the
world and a way of life that is rapidly disappearing. I hope that you have enjoyed this more
than 685-mile (1,100-kilometer) tour and I hope to see you soon on one of these wonderful
places surrounded by the sea.