Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The name Iōjima means “Sulphur Island” but it should not be confused with the island of the
same name where the heroic battle of World War II took place. That Iwōjima is about 870
miles (1,400 kilometers) to the east of Okinawa in the Pacific Ocean, approximately 745 miles
(1,200 kilometers) due south of Tokyo, roughly midway between Tokyo and the US Mariana
Islands and Guam.
There are a number of small islands in Japan that bear the name Iōjima, Iwōjima, Iwōtō
or Iōtō. They are simply alternative spellings of the same Kanji characters (
硫黄島
) and all are
named for the same reason: they are all “sulphur” (that is, volcanic) islands. They are merely
spelled differently in English depending on the transliteration of the Kanji which, of course,
is always the same. Thus, for example, Iōjima, Iwojima and Ioujima are all correct. In point
of fact, the name of “Iwo Jima” of epic World War II fame was officially changed by Japan in
2007 to the English language spelling and pronunciation of Iōtō,
tō
simply being yet another
variant of “island” (
島
), along with
jima
and
shima
.
Bamboo forms a picturesque backdrop to Takeshima's cement plant and dock.
Like its more famous namesake, this Iōjima (
硫黄島
; Iwō-jima), which is also called
Mishima Iōjima, Satsuma Iōjima and Tokara Iōjima to help distinguish it from the other
Iōjima, is a tiny place. It's about 2 by 4 miles (3 by 6 kilometers) in width and length, which
translates to a total land area of a little under 5 square miles (12 square kilometers) and a
circumference of a tiny bit over 12 miles (20 kilometers). A recent report put the island's pop-
ulation at 142.
Iōjima is served by the thrice weekly “M” Line ferry from Kagoshima. Usually, for each
day that there is a drop of passengers and cargo on the westbound sailing, the following day
the ship returns sailing eastbound back to Kagoshima. However, on one sailing per week,
there is a two-day delay between the drop and the return. The ferry schedule is more fully
described at the beginning of this section on the northwestern group of Mishima Islands.
