Far out to sea from the city of Tokyo, over 1,000 kilometers away are Tokyo's hidden islands called the Ogasawaras. Few tourists have ever heard of them. It's off the tourist radar.
There is no plane ー only a 24 hour ferry ride from Takeshiba Port in the city to Chichijima once a week. When you make a trip to the Ogasawaras (also known as the Bonin Islands) you make a commitment to stay for a while. What you find on the other side is a tropical island paradise that many call the Galapagos of the East.
The deep blue water here even has its own name ー Bonin Blue.
Most of the islanders can speak native English and this is where Chichijima's history comes in.
In 1830, Nathaniel Savory came from Hawaii with about 30 colonists to settle on an island known as the Bonins.
The island was made up of American, Europeans and Pacific Islanders - a diverse island in Japan.
In 1853, Commodore Perry of the US Navy stopped here with the Black ship on his way to Edo (Tokyo) to open up Japan and made Nathaniel Governor of the island.
In 1862 Japan claimed the islands and renamed in Ogasawara in 1876. After World War II, the US took possession of the island and returned it to Japan in 1968. Now, the islands are an example of how a diverse Japanese island can live peacefully together.
