Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(
東温泉
; Higashionsen; lit. “Eastern Hot Springs”). It's a total of 5 miles (3 kilometers) from
the port to the
onsen
, not including the little side branch off to the Observation Platform.
The natural “emergency” port of Ōura.
Higashi is an open-air boiling spring located at the foot of Mount Iō volcano and right
on the seashore. Try soaking here. Most likely you'll have the pools completely to yourself
as there's usually no one else around. The air, sea and sky are crystal clear. A sunset or a
star-filled night sky, melting in a bubbling hot pool on the ocean, is about as a romantic and
soothing experience as one can ever have. In other words, it just doesn't get any better than
this.
The large upright rock just offshore is Higashi-no Tatigami-iwa or “Eastern Standing God
Rock.” We'll describe it below.
There are two more interesting scenic, though shorter, drives or hikes on Iōjima. They are
west of town. Both start on the road that leads due north from the port straight up the hill
behind town. Once you've crested the hill, continue west past the lighthouse. You'll be on top
of the island's plateau, surrounded by pasture land full of black cattle, horses and peacocks.
Quickly enough, less than a mile (2 kilometers) from town, you'll come to the airstrip. It was
possible to build an airstrip on Iōjima as this natural plateau is just large enough to handle
small aircraft landings and take-offs. As mentioned earlier, even though it looks pretty lonely,
it's not been abandoned. The strip and control tower are maintained and are used by charter
aircraft and for emergency air evacuations.
If you backtrack just a bit and then continue west a little less than a mile (1 kilometer)
beyond the airstrip, you'll come to the western end of the island. It's a high bluff, and on a
clear day you can see almost exactly 19 miles (30 kilometers) to the last of the Mishima, the
“black” island or Kuroshima.
Where the road ends, a long descent on a set of at least 100 steps begins. This takes you
down to Oura Port (
大浦港
; Ōurakō), a small natural port used as a typhoon emergency
