15

Ecotourism in Ogasawara Islands
Shigeo ICHIKI
Ogasawara Whale-watching Association & Bonin Ecotourism Commission, Higashimachi,
Chichijima, Ogasawara, Tokyo, 100-2101 Japane-mail: coralline@h9.dion.ne.jp

Abstract
Recently, people of isolated islands worldwide, especially those at low latitudes, have begun totake an interest in ecotourism. The Ogasawara Islands have good potential for ecotourism because of
their unique ecology and great distance from the mainland. I therefore studied the situation regarding
the islands’ nature, history, culture, lifestyle, industry, environmental disruption and conservation,
research, sightseeing and ecotourism, and hereby present my discussion on the perspective of
ecotourism in the Ogasawara Islands. Five colonizations occurred historically in the Ogasawaras(Conventional, Old, New and New New Islanders and the ‘Shimakko’). Each of these waves of people
added in various ways to the cultural heritage. There is unique nature such as many endemic species
and karsts. Ecological disruptions, however, have proceeded rapidly. The introduction of an express
ship in 2005 will increase environmental disruption. Despite its small size, Chichijima Island is hometo eight institutes. In addition, 24 universities, institutions and museums have visited Chichijima andHahajima in the Ogasawaras. Three guide training systems were established in 2001 and 2002.
About 6%-7% of the local people participated in each guide training system. In 2002, the Bonin
Ecotourism Commission was also established. I suggest that it will be necessary to establish a Guide
Center for promoting ecotourism to the Ogasawaras, making use of the three guide training systems,
and an Institute of Natural Science for Sightseeing, making use of much available information fromstudies for sightseeing. I believe it would also be desirable to aim for registry with the World Heritage(Natural Heritage) in order to obtain a consensus of opinion on ecotourism among the five colonies.
Key words: ecotourism, endemic, guide training system, isolated islands, Ogasawara Islands, sightseeing, whale-watching, world heritage

1. Introduction
Although many isolated islands have beautiful,precious nature, which the inhabitants use as a sightseeing resource, they have few valuable agricultural or
aquatic products or industrial resources, which arecompetitive with the mainland. Recently, people ofisolated islands worldwide, especially at low latitudes,
have begun to consider ecotourism as a means of conserving nature and providing high-quality sightseeing
services while providing sustainable economic
development. Ecotourism is easier to introduce toisolated islands than to the mainland because it iseasier to limit the number of sightseers and control
their activities than on the mainland. Such limitationand control of sightseers is an important concept inecotourism. Also, the natural environment on isolated islands is generally more delicate than that of themainland because there may be a few or many endemic species on isolated islands, such as the Galapagos
Islands. The natural environment of isolated islands
must be conserved strictly from the viewpoint of

biodiversity. Thus, ecotourism may plan an important role in economic self-subsistence and development as well as natural conservation for many isolatedislands.
The Ogasawara Islands have good potential for
ecotourism in Japan. They are located about 1,000 km
south of the mainland (Honshu, Japan) and have neverbeen connected to the mainland (Fig. 1). As a result,many organisms of the Ogasawaras have undergone
unique evolution resulting in the production ofendemic species. In addition, the Ogasawaras havelarge, rare animals available as sightseeing resources,
such as whales and sea turtles. Thus the Ogasawaras
have a unique ecology and have been called the‘Oriental Galapagos’ in Japan. The Japan Travel
Bureau, a famous think tank for travel in Japan has
evaluated the endemic flora and karst geography of
the Minamijima, giving it a ranking of A for sightseeing resources that can attract many sightseers fromall around Japan (Isolated Island Ecotourism Study
Group, 2002).

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S. ICHIKI

Fig. 1

Map of Ogasawara Islands (Ogasawara Gunto and Kazan Retto) including Honsyu (Mainland), Shikoku,
Kyusyu and Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa).

The distance also makes them attractive for ecotourism. The number of sightseers is limited by thegreat distance from the mainland with the only accessbeing a ship which takes about 25 hours to reach the
Ogasawaras. Also restraining sightseeing and construction activities is the degree of legal protection, with
83% of the Ogasawara Islands registered as a National
Park and laws enacted concerning conservation ofmany organisms and areas. These factors haveresulted in much untouched nature remaining, which
is one of the important factors for promoting ecotourism on isolated islands. However, there are people in
the Ogasawaras who are concerned about environmental disruption of this untouched nature, because
there have been discussions regarding introduction ofan express ship in 2005 that will take only 16 hours toreach the islands. The express ship would bringenormous capital and have the effect of increasingsightseers in the Ogasawaras.
Moreover, theOgasawara Islands have some problems with ecological disruption even now. It is hoped that ecotourism
will solve these problems and provide a balance
between natural conservation and utilization of nature
as a sightseeing resource.
The people of the Ogasawaras have practiced ecotourism in the field of whale-watching since 1988,
when whale-watching in Japan was conducted there.
The Ogasawara Whale-watching Association (OWA)
has operated under voluntary rules (Fig. 2) and studied
the ecology of whales to find a balance between utilization and conservation. Also, whale-watching has
had large economic effects on lodges, souvenir shops,
food shops, etc., as well as the sightseeing business(Mori, 2000). Thus, the people of the Ogasawaras
have basic grounds for promoting ecotourism.
I consider the Ogasawara Islands adequate for acase study of ecotourism on isolated islands. In thispaper, I look into the situation regarding the nature,
history, culture, livelihood, industry, environmental
disruption and conservation, research and ecotourism,and discuss the perspective of ecotourism in the
Ogasawara Islands.

Fig. 2A voluntary rule of Whale-watching (mainly Humpback whale and Sperm whale) established by
Ogasawara Whale-watching Association.

Ecotourism in Ogasawara Islands

2. Introduction to the Ogasawara Islands
2.1 Geography and climate
The Ogasawara Islands (also known as Bonin
Islands in English) encompass more than 30 islets
scattered in the northwest Pacific Ocean in the subtropical zone (Fig. 1). Of these islets, the largest is
Chichijima, with an area of about 23.8 km2, which islocated about 1,000 km south of Tokyo.
The
Ogasawara Islands feature an oceanic topography withmild temperatures (about 23°C yearly average on
Chichijima) and no frost or snow in any season. The
annual precipitation is about 1,600-1,800 mm on
Chichijima.
2.2 Animals
The fauna of the Ogasawara Islands has features ofoceanic islands. There are many endemic species
and some big sea animals in the Ogasawaras that haveimportance as academic material or sightseeing
resources. Most of the endemic animals have been
designated a national monument by the Culture
Agency and are conserved by law (Sato, 1992).
2.2.1 Mammalia
There is only one endemic mammal, the Bonin
flying fox, Pteropus pselaphon (called Ogasawara
o-komori in Japanese). On land, there are three
species of mouse and feral animals including goats,pigs and cats, mainly on Chichijima and its surrounding islets. In the ocean there are found about 20
species of whales. Especially noted are the humpback whale, Megaptera novaengliae (zato kujira inJapanese), bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops t.aduncus(minami hando iruka in Japanese), and spinner dolphin, Stenella longirostris (hashinaga iruka inJapanese), which appear along the coast within 10 kmof the islands and have thus been studied academicallyand used as sightseeing resources.
2.2.2 Aves
The Ogasawara Islands are an important breedingsite for six species of seabirds. There is also one
endemic species, Apolopteron familiare hahasima(Hahajima meguro in Japanese) and five endemic
subspecies, including Buteo buteo toyoshimai(Ogasawara nosuri in Japanese).
Apolopteronfamiliare hahasima lives only on Hahajima and isdesignated as a special national monument in Japan.
Three endemic species and two endemic subspecies
have been lost since the age of immigration of people
to the Ogasawaras. Among four seasons about 150
and 210 species are found in the Ogasawara Gunto
and the Ogasawara Islands, respectively.
2.2.3 Reptilia
Conventional species of reptiles include the Bonin
lizard, Cryptoblepharus boutonii (Ogasawara tokage
in Japanese) and sea turtles. Three other lizard

17

species and one snail species have become naturalized.
One of the naturalized lizards, Anolis carolinensis (thegreen anole) is a menace to many conventional insects.
The Ogasawara Islands are the most important
breeding site in Japan for the green turtle, Chelonia
mydas (ao umi-game in Japanese) (Suganuma, 1992).
2.2.4 Amphibia
There are two introduced species, Bufo marinus(o-hikigaeru in Japanese) and Rana catesbeiana (ushigaeru in Japanese), which were brought in as food or
to destroy vermin.
2.2.5 Invertebrates
There are more than 100 species of terrestrial
mollusks, about 90% of which are endemic species
because of accelerated adaptive radiation (Horikoshi
et al., 2002). All of the terrestrial mollusks designated as national monuments are endemic species.
There are about 800 insect species, about 30% of
which are endemic. It is thought that most of theinsects other than the endemic species were brought inas a result of human activity (Horikoshi et al., 2002).
2.3 Plants
Vascular plants in the Ogasawaras number about
500 species, about 40% of which are endemic. Mostof the plants came from tropical or subtropicalSoutheast Asia or Japan (Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku
and Okinawa). The number of endangered or vulnerable species registered by the Ministry of Environment is about 40 (Ono, 2000). This flora is characterized by a higher ratio of pteridophytes in the
Ogasawaras than on the mainland and a complete lackof fagaceous plants. This is similar the characteristics of flora on other oceanic islands such as Hawaii
and the Galapagos Islands (Ono, 2002).
Because of very poor nutrient conditions, thepopulation of algae is very small in the Ogasawaras.
The number of species is more than 230 (Kasaki &Okazaki, 1980), but their endemism has not beenstudied yet.
2.4 Geology
The Ogasawara Islands are said to have been
produced by seamount activity about 50 million years
ago in the vicinity of the equator. Proof of seamountactivity appears as pillow lava, which is easy to findall over Chichijima. Most of the rocks are volcanic,
and include boninite, which is scarcely found outside
the Ogasawara Islands, but there is limestone in parts.
The areas with the limestone are sightseeing spots
such as Minamijima, a small island located about one
kilometer southwest of Chichijima, and at Sekimon on
Hahajima. Minamijima is especially popular withmany sightseers because it presents a numinous,
romantic landscape with karst (doline, uvala, lapiaz,sea caves, etc.) and contains many semi-fossilized
snails.

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S. ICHIKI

2.5 History
Sadayori Ogasawara, who was a Japanese knight,
is said to have discovered the Ogasawara Islands firstin 1593. Governmental officials studied and explored the Ogasawara Islands and declared themJapanese territory in 1675. The first inhabitants were
five European and American and about 20 Hawaiian
people in 1830. Their descendants have lived mostly
on Chichijima and are called the Conventional
Islanders. The population rate is said to be several
percent recently. Japanese people immigrated to the
Ogasawaras for the first time in 1862.
Their
descendants have lived mostly on Chichijima andHahajima and are called the Old Islanders. The
population rate is about 20% in 2002 (Tokyo Metropolitan Government 2002). After Japan’s defeat in
World War II, America governed the islands from1946 to 1968, during which time the Japanese wererequired to leave, but the European and American
descendants were allowed to stay.
Once theOgasawaras were returned to Japan, many Japaneseimmigrated there. They are called the New Islanders.
The population increased rapidly from 285 people in1968 to 1,014 in 1973. From about 10 to 15 years
ago, many young people in their 20s and 30s haveimmigrated to the Ogasawara Islands from themainland. They are called the New New Islanders.
The young generations who were born in the
Ogasawara Islands after the recession from America in1968 are called ‘Shimakko.’ Thus the history of the
Ogasawaras is complicated. The complication resulted in the establishment of five colonies (Conventional, Old, New, and New New Islanders and the
Shimakko).
2.6 Culture
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government, which has
jurisdiction in the Ogasawaras, has designated twelve
cultural heritages in the islands. Of these, theNanyo-Odori (South Seas Dance) accompanied by
Ogasawara folk songs is most popular with sightseers
and local people. The European and American Islanders inherited the dance and folk songs. Generally, members of the Nanyo-Odori Preservation Club
perform the dance for sightseers and local people atpublic events. Recently, hula dancing has beenfashionable on Chichijima. There are more than 100
hula dance members. They are changing the Hawaiian hula dance into an Ogasawaran hula dance, using
Ogasawaran folk songs. The New New Islanders
discovered and inherited the dance culture. The huladance team performs the Ogasawaran-style hula dance
to sightseers and local people at public events together
with the Nanyo-Odori.
Although the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has
not designated it a cultural heritage, Takonoha-zaiku― a kind of basketry using the leaves of the Takanoki
tree (an endemic plant) ― is also popular with sightseers and local people. The Takanoha-zaiku Study

Group makes and sells baskets, coasters, bracelets,and other handicraft items. The Conventional Islanders established Takanoha-zaiku and the Old Islanders inherited it (Hasegawa, 1989).
2.7 Lifestyle and infrastructure capacity
Transportation to Chichijima is very inconvenient,with the Ogasawara-Maru ferry ship only travelling toChichijima once each six days from Tokyo and taking
25 hours. There is no public airport in the Ogasawara
Islands. Despite the inconvenience, about 2,000
people live on Chichijima and about 400 on Hahajima.
Most of the people are Old, New and New New Islanders. Ogasawara Village Office (2000) aimed atincreasing the population to be 3,000.
Prices of food, sundry goods, gasoline, housing
rents, etc., are very high. For example, the price ofgasoline in the Ogasawaras is about twice that on themainland. House rental costs in the Ogasawaras are
similar to prices in central Tokyo, preventing many
people from immigrating.
The capacity of water supply and sewerage is
2,500 people in Chichijima and 1,000 people in
Hahajima (Ogasawara Village Office interior data2003). The capacity of waste disposal is 3,000 people in Chichijima and 2,000 people in Hahajima(Tokyo Metropolitan Government 1992). The capacity of electric power is 4,340 people in Chichijima
and 1,160 people in Hahajima (Tokyo Metropolitan
Government 1992).
2.8 Industry
In 1995, 23.8% of the local people were engaged
in services industries, mostly for tourists (Ogasawara
Village Office 2000). The income for tourism isabout 810 million-yen in 2000 (Isolated Islands Ecotourism Study Group 2003). Another 32.5% were
public officers and 20.3% were builders (Ogasawara
Village Office 2000). The ratio of workers engaging
in agriculture was only 3.5% in 1995 (Ogasawara
Village Office 2000), because of the unsuitability of
the islands for much agriculture due to acid and salty
soils and lack of space. The total agricultural yield
was 110 million-yen in 2002 (Tokyo Metropolitan
Government 2002). The ratio of workers engaged infishing was 5.0% in 1995 (Ogasawara Village Office2000), and the total fishery yield was 503 million yen
in 2002 (Tokyo Metropolitan Government 2002).
The annual ordinary income reported by the
Ogasawara village office in 2002 was 3,902
million-yen (Tokyo Metropolitan Government 2002).
Thus the main industries of the Ogasawara Islands are
tourism and construction business. As demand forconstruction business is decreasing, however, thedegree of the islands’ economic dependence on tourism becomes higher year by year.

Ecotourism in Ogasawara Islands

3. Environmental Disruption andConservation
3.1 Whales
Whale-watching has been conducted mainly
around Chichijima and Hahajima, where humpback
whales, Megaptera novaeangliae (zato kujira inJapanese) are observed in winter and spring. This
started in 1988, the first time whale-watching wasdone in Japan. One year later in 1989, the Ogasawara
Whale-watching Association (OWA) establishedvoluntary rules (Fig. 2), which have been implemented by OWA and respected by most of the whalewatching boats. Whale-watching trips to observe
sperm whales, Physeter catodon (makko kujira inJapanese) have been conducted since 1995.
Recently, dolphin watching and swimming withbottlenose dolphins, Tursiops t.aduncus (minami
hando iruka in Japanese) and spinner dolphins,
Stenella longirostris (hashinaga iruka in Japanese)
have been popular among sightseers. Several boats
often approach a group of dolphins, so there is concern that the boats are causing stress to the dolphinsand that swimmers with the dolphins could be involved in accidents. However, there has been no effective rule regarding dolphin watching and swimming. The OWA established a guideline for dolphinswimming in 2002. However, the guideline has notbeen generally recognized to Ogasawarans and sightseers. OWA has held the meeting about the guideline
to get a consensus of opinion since 2003.
3.2 Bonin flying fox
The Ministry of Environment has designated theBonin flying fox, Pteropus pselaphon (Ogasawara
o-komori in Japanese) a critically endangered species
in the red data book. There were calculated to be
130-150 individuals of the Bonin flying fox on
Chichijima in 1998-1999 (Inaba, 1999). Moreover,Inaba et al. (2002) has indicated that their numbers
decreased sharply in 2001-2002 and the number now
is estimated at 65-80. In their paper they said thereason for the decrease was unknown. The Tokyo
Metropolitan Government, Ministry of Environment
and Institute of Boninology have studied the ecology
and looked into reasons for the decline since 2001.
The Bonin flying fox is one of the popular sightseeing
resources, but there are no effective guidelines
regarding it.
3.3 Birds
The Ministry of Environment has designated theBonin Islands wood pigeon, Columba janthina nitens(akagashira karasubato in Japanese) an endangered
species in the red data book. The Tokyo Metropolitan government caught three individuals of thepigeons in 2001 and has tried to breed them. Recently two wood pigeon bore in 2002 and 2003 underartificial breeding. Moreover the Forestry Agency

19

has established ‘Bonin Islands wood pigeon Sanctuary’ at Chichijima since 2002. The route for observation will be constructed from 2003. Now thepigeon begins to be used as the sightseeing resource.
Minamijima is one of the important breeding sites
in the Ogasawara Islands for the brown booby, Sulaleucogaster (katsuo-dori in Japanese), wedge-tailed
shearwater, Puffinis pacificus (onaga mizunagi-dori inJapanese) and Bulwer’s petrel, Bulweria bulwerii(anadori in Japanese). Many sightseers, however, disturb them. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government hasconstituted sightseeing routes carefully to avoid this.
The Mukojima island group is an important nesting site for the short-tailed albatross, Diomedea
albatrus (ahodori in Japanese), Laysan albatross,
Diomedea immutabilis (ko-ahodori in Japanese) andblack-footed albatross, Diomedea nigripes (kuroashi
ahodori in Japanese). In particular, the short-tailed
albatross had been declared extinct worldwide in 1949,
but was later rediscovered on Torishima, an island
about 570 km south of Tokyo. In 2000, one shorttailed albatross was found at Yomejima in the
Mukojima island group for the first time since thedeclaration. In 2001, the number of short-tailed
albatrosses was calculated at 1,480 in Torishima
where is 430 km north of Chichijima (Tokyo Metropolitan Government & Institute of Boninology, 2001).
Recently, whale-watching and diving boats havebegun to use these albatrosses in Mukojima islandgroup as a sightseeing resource. However, there areno effective guidelines regarding them.
3.4 Green turtles
The Ministry of Environment has designated thegreen turtle, Chelonia mydas, a vulnerable species in
the red data book. The green turtle, however, is not
only a sightseeing resource but also an important foodresource in the Ogasawara Islands. In 1880, the number of green turtles caught for food and tortoiseshell
was 1,852.
Today, 135 are taken annually. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government used to conduct artificial hatchingof green turtles from 1910 to the end of World War II.
These days, the Ogasawara Marine Center (OMC) has
been conducting artificial hatching since 1982.
Recently, the number of green turtles has tended toincrease in the Chichijima island group (Horikoshi etal., 2002), but it is not obvious if this tendency is theresult of the artificial hatching. The OMC has also
been providing environmental education for sightseers
and local people through its green turtle breeding andreleasing program.
3.5 Plants
The Ministry of Environment has designated about
40 endemic species found in the Ogasawaras asthreatened species in the red data book (Ono, 2002).
In particular, Melastoma tetramerum (munin no botan
in Japanese) and Calanthe hattorii (asahi ebine in

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S. ICHIKI

Japanese) have been propagated and transplanted by
Tokyo University and Chuogakuin High School,
respectively.
On Hahajima, a naturalized plant, Bischoffia
javanica (akagi in Japanese), has been interfering withthe growth of endemic plants such as Elaeocarpus
photiniafolius (shima horutonoki in Japanese), theseeds of which are one of the important foods forColumba janthina nitens. In 2002, the Forestry
Agency also held an ‘Akagi Removal Tour’ with about
100 sightseers from the mainland.
High grazing pressure from goats, Capra hircus(yagi in Japanese) had caused a decrease in endemic
plants and an outflow of red soil into the coral seas of
Minamijima and the Mukojima island group. The
Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Institute of Boninology and other related institutions have tried toremove all of the goats from the Mukojima islandgroup and Nishijima (of the Chichijima island group)
since 1997. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government
also removed all of the goats from Minamijima in
1971-1972, and has removed goats from Chichijima
since 1976 (the Ogasawara Village Office took over in1992). Moreover, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Ogasawara Wildlife Study Group haveplanted seeds and seedlings of various native plants on
Mukojima island group.
On Minamijima, theOgasawara Village Office and Ogasawara Wildlife
Study Group have removed a naturalized plant,
Cenchrus brownii (kurinoiga in Japanese) with many
volunteers from among the local people since 2001.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Forestry
Agency have planted or transplanted the native
grasses on exposed areas of Minamijima since 2001
and 2002, respectively.

Table 1
Institute name

3.6 Geology
Minamijima consists of limestone, so there are
precious karsts such as lapiaz and many semi-fossils
such as Mandarina luhuana (hirobeso kata-maimai inJapanese). Because the Ministry of Environment
designated Minamijima a special conservation area in
1972, the destruction and removal of all things on
Minamijima are prohibited by law in Japan. Nevertheless, sightseers visiting Minamijima have destroyed
the lapiaz by treading on it and some collected thesemi-fossils. The Ogasawara Village Office andOgasawara Tourist Association each establishedvoluntary rules for conservation and use of
Minamijima in 2001. Recently Tokyo Metropolitan
Government also has operated a rule for adequate
utilization of Minamijima since 2003. These rules
suggest that guides should control and direct the sightseers so as to minimize their impact on nature.
3.7 Whole nature
The Ogasawara Village Office established an
ordinance in 1973 to protect nature and the living
environment by prohibiting people from abandoningcars. In 1998, they established an ordinance for
ethical considerations in breeding of cats in order toconserve nature and protect environmental health.

4. Research
4.1 Institutes on Chichijima
Table 1 lists institutes on Chichijima. Despite its
being such a small island with an exiguous population,
Chichijima has eight research institutes. Each institute has its own field of study, but there exist no network organizations or systems connecting these institutes, so information from their respective research israrely shared with other researchers or the local
people.

Institute in Chichi-Jima in 2002.

Administrator

Number offull-time staff

Main field of study (species)

Tokyo Metropolitan University

Tokyo Metropolitan
Government

0Bird, Plant, Geology, Goat, Insect,Sea archin, Oceanology, Education

Ogasawara Subtropical Agriculture
CenterTokyo Metropolitan
Government

13

Plant, Insect

Ogasawara Fishery CenterTokyo Metropolitan
Government

17

Fish, Crustacea, Oceanology

Ogasawara Marine Center

Ogasawara Village
Office2

Sea turtle, Whale

Institute of Boninology

Non Profit
Organization

3

Bat, Sea turtle, Bird, Calling crab

Ogasawara Wildlife Study Group

Non Profit
Organization

1

Plant, Vegetation recovery

Ogasawara Whale-Watching
Association

Voluntary
Organization

3

Whale, Dolphin, Ecotourism

0

GalaxyNational Astronomical Observatory Nation

Ecotourism in Ogasawara Islands

4.2 Institutes visiting from the mainland recently
Table 2 lists institutes that have sent delegations
from the mainland recently. In recent years, representatives of 24 universities, institutes and museums
have visited the Ogasawara Islands. Two thirds werefrom universities. Most came in order to study thenature, but there were also some sociological andhistorical investigations.
Most of the researchers from the mainland cooperated with institutes on Chichijima, but afterwards
they almost always took away their results, so thosewere not immediately available. Later, they always
sent a report on their investigations to the cooperating
institute on Chichijima. As a result, there is a large
accumulation of information in the form of thesereports in the Ogasawara Islands, but the contents of
the reports are rarely made available to the local
people. In other words, almost all of the informationthat researchers from the mainland make flows out tothe mainland and is not provided to the people of the
Ogasawaras.
Table 2Category
University

InstituteMuseum21

5. Sightseeing
5.1 Characteristics of the sightseers
Figure 3 shows the annual number of passengers
on the Ogasawara-Maru (the ferry ship), and thebreakdown by purpose of visit, and numbers ofpassengers on cruise ships for Chichijima in
1993-2001. The total number of sightseers (whose
purpose was to engage in sightseeing, fishing, diving
or relaxing on cruise ships) has been about
17,000-18,000 and has tended to decrease slightly.
Passengers on business have decreased since 1998.
The total number of passengers (on the
Ogasawara-Maru plus cruise ships) has been
26,000-29,000.
The mean annual number ofinvestigators and researchers from 1992 to 2001 is as511, indicating that on the average 43 investigatorsand researchers visit the Ogasawara Islands eachmonth.
Figure 4 shows the seasonality of the mean numberof Ogasawara-Maru passengers in 1994-1996 andInstitute visiting from the mainland recently.

Institute name

Administrator

Main field of study (species)
Whale, Pteropus pselaphon, Botany, Squid

Tokyo University

NationKyoto University

NationSea turtle, Crab, Histry, Ethnology

Tohoku University

NationTerristrial shell

Hokkaido University

NationPhycology, Sea turtle

Kyusyu University

NationPhycology

Yamagata University

NationPhycology, Geology

Tokyo University of Fisheries

NationSea turtle

Shizuoka University

NationEthnology

Mie University

NationWhale

Gifu University

NationBotanyTokai University

PrivateWhale, Shark, Crab

Otsuma Women's University

PrivateSociology

Komazawa University

PrivateBotany, Physical geography

Toho University

PrivateBiocenology, Albatross

Hosei University

PrivateHistory

Rikkyo University

PrivateEcotourism

Forestry and Forest Products ResearchInstitute

Independent Administrative

Columba janthina nitens, Apalopteronfamiliare hahasima, Dragonfly, Bischoffia
javanica

National Institute for Environmental
Studies

Independent Administrative

Conservation of subtropical island ecology

Japan Wildlife Research Center

Foundation

Vegetation recovery, Goat

Hoshino Wildlife Research Center

Cooperation

Ant

National Science Museum

NationDecapod

Natural History Museum and Institute,
Chiba

Chiba Prefectural
Government

Marine Invertebrate

Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of
Natural History

Kanagawa Prefectural
Government

Anolis carolinensis

Takao Museum of Natural History,
Tokyo

Tokyo Metropolitan
Government

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S. ICHIKI

Fig. 3

Annual number of Ogasawara-Maru (Ferry ship) passenger divided into the purposes and cruise shippassengers for Chichijima in 1993-2001.

Apr. May. Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar.

Month
Fig. 4

Seasonality of mean number of Ogasawara-Maru (Ferry ship) passenger in 1994-1996 and in 1999-2001.

1999-2001. There are two peaks, one in spring andthe other in summer, in both 1994-1996 and1999-2001. The height of the spring peak was about
half that of the summer peak in 1999-2001. The
number of passengers in August was about four times
that in January in both 1994-1996 and 1999-2001.
The number visiting between August and November
in 1999-2001 clearly increased compared with thefigure for 1994-1996. This is because swimmingwith dolphins and sperm whale watching have become
popularized. The number visiting in April andMarch in 1999-2001, however, clearly decreased fromthe figure in 1994-1996, because humpback whale
watching lost popularity. The main reason for thiswas that whale-watching has come to be conducted inabout 16 other regions of Japan, so people do not needto travel all the way to the Ogasawaras to enjoy it, but
meanwhile the popularity of sperm whale and dolphin
watching has tended to stabilize the seasonality in thenumber of passengers.
Table 3 shows the frequency of repeat visitors forsightseeing in the Ogasawara Islands and Okinawa.
The proportion of first-time visitors to the Ogasawaras
was 71.6%, which is 25.6% higher than to Okinawa.
The proportions of second-time, third-time and fourth-Table 3 Frequency of repeat of sightseers in the Ogasawara
Islands and the Okinawa. Data of the Ogasawara
Islands is extracted by Ogasawara Tourist Association (1999). Data of the Okinawa is extracted by
Okinawa Prefecture (1998).
.
Ogasawara (%)
Okinawa (%)
First

71.6

46.0

Second

11.6

19.3

Third

3.4

8.5

Fourth9.0

21.2

No answer

4.4

5.0

time visitors to the Ogasawaras were about half thoseto Okinawa.
5.2 Institutions for sightseers
There was one hotel, one youth hostel and 44
homes offering lodging for tourists on Chichijima, andone youth hostel and 14 homes offering lodging for
tourists on Hahajima in 2000. The total number ofbeds on Chichijima in 2000 was 948 and on Hahajima,
202. The capacity of beds in Chichijima andHahajima is estimated to be 2,374 (Tokyo Metropolitan Government, 1992).

Ecotourism in Ogasawara Islands

Table 4 lists public sightseeing faculties on
Chichijima and Hahajima. There are six institutions
on Chichijima, three times the number on Hahajima.
The total number of public sightseeing faculties on
Chichijima is 33, about twice the number on
Hahajima.

tive arrangements among the Ogasawara Tourist
Association and Hahajima Tourist Association in
August 2002. The total number of ocean-going tours
is about three times that of land tours on Chichijima.
The total number of ocean-going tours from
Chichijima is about eleven times that from Hahajima,
while the total number of land tours on Chichijima is
about 3.5 times that on Hahajima. Thus there ismuch more tourism activity on Chichijima than on
Hahajima. Moreover, it is clear that ocean-goingtours from Chichijima exceed land tours greatly.

5.3 Sightseeing resources
Table 5 lists sightseeing resources in the Ogasawara
Islands. There are many potential or scarcely used
resources for diving or snorkeling tours or experience
activities. Stargazing and bird watching resources
are expected to gain in importance in the future.
Furthermore, other islands beyond Chichijima,
Hahajima and Minamijima have been scarcely used assightseeing resources.
5.4 Sightseeing cooperation
Table 6 lists styles of tours and number of cooperaTable 423

5.5 Express ship (Techno-Super-Liner)
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
told the people of the Ogasawaras in 2002 that an
express ship (the Techno-Super-Liner: TSL) will be
introduced in 2005 and will take about 16 hours toreach Chichijima from the mainland. Responding toa questionnaire, 31% of Ogasawarans belonging to the

Public sightseeing faculties in Chichi-Jima and Haha-Jima.
Chichi-Jima
Ogasawara Visitor Center
Ogasawara Subtropical Agriculture Center
Ogasawara Fishery Center
Ogasawara Marine Center
Ogasawara Tourist Association
Ogasawara Whale-Watching Association
6

Haha-Jima
Ross Memorial
Haha-Jima Tourist Association

Mikazukiyama-Hokuroku
Sakaiura
Tyuozan
Kominato
Miyanohama
5

OkimuraMiyukihama

Nagahama
KensakiSamegasaki
Suribachi
KofujiNumberMikazukiyama
Wheather Station
TsurihamaNgasakiAsahidaira
Hatsuneura
Tyuozan
Nakayamatoge
Takayama
9Park
NumberOgamiyama
1

Wakihamanagisa
1Denshinyama
Hatsuneura
Chichi-Jima Kaigansen
Takayama
Minamizaki
Asahiyama
6

Nishidai
Chibusayama
Hahajimasan
Minamizaki

Hyotan-Jima
Hitomaru-Jima
Anijimaseto
Minami-Jima
4

Miyukinohama
HirashimaTobiuosanbashi
Aotodaiganpeki
2Okikou33

17

Institution

NumberKursaal

NumberLookout

Root for Nature Observation

NumberUndersea Park

NumberHarborNumberTotal Number

2

2

5

4

2

1

24

S. ICHIKI

Ogasawara Tourist Association answered that they
hope a loan for their expanding business toward theintroduction of the TSL (Ogasawara Tourist Association, 2000). In response to another questionnaire,
57.3% of Ogasawarans belonging to the Ogasawara
Board of Trade said that the introduction of the TSL
would be effective in improving their business (TSL
Introduction Assistant Society, 2002). Thus, many
managers anticipate economic effects from the TSL.
On the other hand, some local people are concerned
about environmental disruption resulting fromincreased tourism brought by the TSL.

Table 5

6. Ecotourism
6.1 Whale-watching
The Ogasawara Whale-watching Association(OWA) has made a point of conserving whales since
its establishment when voluntary rules were established for whale-watching boats (Fig. 2). These rules,
created by local people, play an effective role asguidelines. The OWA has also studied the ecologyof whales and utilized the results as information forwhale-watching guides and publicity for the
Ogasawara Islands. The effectiveness of these voluntary rules has been verified from the results. The
whale-watchers and repeat visitors who have been to

Sightseeing resources in the Ogasawara Islands.

Tour style

Category

Already used resource

Watching

WhalesMegaptera novaeangliae
Physeter catodon
Tursiops t.aduncus
Stenella longirostris

Sea turtle
Endemic bird

Chelonia mydas
Apalopteron familiare hahasima

Sea bird

Sula leucogaster
Puffinus pacificus
Diomedea immutabilis
Diomedea nigripes

Experience activity

Diomedea albatrus
Bulweria bulwerii

Pteropus pselaphon

Geology

Karst in Minami-Jima
Karst in Haha-Jima
Heart rockPillow lava

Noctilucent fungus

Fungus

Mycena chlorophos

Heritage

Wreckage of cargo ship
Nanyo-Odori
Ross stoneFish

Triaenodon obesus
Star
Noctiluca

Plant

All plants

Vegetation

Dry and mesic type

MammalCapra hircus

Bird

All birds

Heritage

War remains

IslandDiving and Snorkeling

Buteo buteo toyoshimai
Columba janthina nitens

Endemic Mammal

Other

Field treking

Potential or scarcely used
resource

Monument
All Ogasawara Islands

Marine organism

Fish
ShrimpCrabCoral

Sea slug
SeaweedTrepang
Triaenodon obesus
Manta birostris

NatureChelonia mydas

Vegetation recovery
Investigation
Agriculture
Fishery

CultureCraft work
Nanyo-Odori
Hula-DanceEcotourism in Ogasawara Islands

the Ogasawaras several times are satisfied with thesevoluntary rules.
Figure 5 shows the seasonality in the number ofOgasawara-Maru ferry passengers in 1986-1987 (before whale-watching started), and in 1993-94 and1997-98 (after whale-watching started). It showsthat the number of passengers increased between
February and April after whale-watching commenced.
Today, sperm whale and dolphin watching and swimming with dolphins are also popular with sightseers.
The economic effects overall of whale- watching were
calculated to be 436 million yen in 1999 (Mori, 2000).
Whale-watching in the Ogasawara Islands keeps abalance between utilization and conservation in promoting the local economy. Thus, whale-watching in
the Ogasawaras may be a successful example of ecotourism on isolated islands.

25

6.2 Guide training systems
There are three guide-training systems in the
Ogasawara Islands. The Hahajima Tourist Association established a forest guide training system in 2001.
In 2001, 24 people (about 6% of the people on
Hahajima) were certified. The Hahajima Tourist
Association has held meetings and training sessions
for forest guides several times since its establishment.
The Ogasawara Whale-watching Association(OWA) established a whale-watching interpreter(guide) system on Chichijima and Hahajima in 2001
(Ichiki, 2002). 171 Ogasawarans (about 7% of thepeople on Chichijima and Hahajima) have beencertified between 2001 and 2003. The OWA has
held meetings and training sessions for whale-watching interpreters and local people in general eachmonth since its establishment. The OWA also holds

Table 6 Tour style and number of cooperation belogning to Ogasawara Tourist Associaton andHaha-Jima Tourist Association on August 2002.
Ocean

Land

Fig. 5

DivingWhale-watching of Megaptera novaeangliae
Whale-watching of Physeter catodon
Dolphin swimming & Minami-Jima & Ani-Jima
undersea park
Minami-Jima tour
Muko-Jima Retto tour
Haha-Jima tour
Sea kayak
Fishing
Wind surfing shool
Sunset cruiseNight tour
Charter boat
Snorkeling
Total number
Treking guideJohn beach tour
Night tour
War remain tour
Island sightseeing by car
Rent-a-car, bicycle, motorcycle
Total number
Total number of ocean and land

Chichi-Jima
8
15
9
10
1
4
2
8
9
1
1
1
6
75
9
2
9
1
1
6
28
103

Haha-Jima
1
1

1

3
1
7
1

2
5
8
15

Seasonality of number of Ogasawara-Maru (Ferry ship) passenger in 1986-1987 (before conducting
whale-watching), in 1993-1994 (after conducting whale-watching) and in 1997-1998 (after conducting
whale-watching). This figure is reedited from figure 8.3 of Mori and Yamada (1996).

26

S. ICHIKI

classes and examinations for certification twice a year.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government established anature guide system on Chichijima and Hahajima in
2002. The school time for certification is about 20
hours. About 140 Ogasawarans (about 6% of thepeople on Chichijima and Hahajima) have attended
the lectures. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government
will hold meetings and guide training sessions fornature guides from 2003. Thus, about 6%-7% of thelocal people have participated in each guide training
system.
6.3 Sightseeing promotion plans
There are two promotion plans in effect for the
Ogasawara Islands. The Ogasawara Village Officespelled out a basic plan, the ‘Ogasawara Island
Sightseeing Promotion Plan’ (also called the Blue
Diamond Plan) in 2000. This plan has the distinct
goal of the Ogasawara Village Office developing thepresent sightseeing industry into the core industry of
the Ogasawara Islands by introducing ecotourism.
The plan also aims for the Ogasawara Village Officeto elevate self-sufficiency of the Ogasawaras by activating the whole economy of Ogasawara Village andproviding the people of the Ogasawaras a satisfying
living.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government spelled out
the ‘Sightseeing Industry Promotion Plan of the Tokyo
Metropolitan Government.’ This plan calls for the
Tokyo Metropolitan Government to construct a new
Tokyo Metropolitan version of ecotourism in the
Ogasawaras and it involves three goals. The first ofthese is to conserve nature in the Ogasawaras bybuilding a system balanced between conservation ofnature and utilization for sightseeing. The second
goal is to create new sightseeing resources and industries. The third goal is to conduct education and edification to cultivate an understanding of and interest innature.
Thus both administrations have introduced theconcept of ecotourism in their sightseeing promotion
plans for the Ogasawara Islands.
6.4 Bonin (Ogasawara) Ecotourism Commission
The Bonin (Ogasawara) Ecotourism Commission
was established in 2002. The aim of the commission
is to contribute to the development of Ogasawara
Village by popularizing the concept of ecotourism andproviding a balance between the conservation of various environmental resources and their sustainable use.
The members of the commission must belong to the
Ogasawara Board of Trade, the Ogasawara Tourist
Association, the Ogasawara Whale-watching Association, the Hahajima Tourist Association or the
Ogasawara Village Office. Thus the commission
consists of members from the fields of sightseeing,commerce, administration and research. The commission is financially supported by the Ogasawara
Village Office. Its organization and support provide

a good example of administrative and civil institutions
promoting ecotourism cooperatively.
In 2003 the commission had the important goal ofdrafting a charter for Ogasawara Ecotourism and aprospectus for ecotourism in the Ogasawara Islands.
The commission also aims to create an integrated
guide training system for all the guide fields certified
by the commission or the Ogasawara Village Office
and a guide field control system to promote conservation. The commission is expected to become acore organization for ecotourism in Ogasawara Islands(Tokyo Metropolitan Government, 2003).

7. Discussion
7.1 Necessity for an Institute of Natural Science
for Sightseeing
There are many natural and cultural attractions in
the Ogasawara Islands. In particular, the uniqueflora and fauna, including many endemic species, hasacademic and world-class value. Therefore, many
researchers visit from the mainland and exploit theattractions of nature (Table 2). What they dig up (theinformation from their studies), however, does notreach the local people, guides and sightseers. Many
reports on their studies accumulate at the eight
institutes on Chichijima, but what has been indicatedas important is for the nature guides to get the information from the studies to present to the sightseers as away of elevating the quality of the guide program(Minami et al., 2002; Isolated Island Ecotourism
Study Group, 2002). The information from the studies should also be utilized in making zoning maps,
guidelines and voluntary rules and in estimating thecapacity for sightseers.
The unique nature also characterizes the nature of
Ogasawara Islands. So, the unique nature willproduce unique sightseeing resources only in the
Ogasawara Islands, which cannot be produced at othersightseeing spots. It is found from results of a questionnaire that most of sightseers feel the attraction of
the Ogasawara Islands from the unique nature and theblue ocean (Tokyo Metropolitan Government & RPI
Co. Ltd., 2002).
It will be necessary to have an institute such as an
Institute of Natural Science for Sightseeing to find andcompile such information from studies and put themto use in sightseeing in the Ogasawara Islands. The
Land Agency’s Regional Development Bureau (1997)
also indicated that for sightseeing in the Ogasawara
Islands it is important to maintain and accumulate
information from studies in the Ogasawara Islands.
The Institute of Natural Science for Sightseeing would
perpetually help to produce new sightseeing resources
and conserve nature.
7.2 Necessity for a Guide Center
The Ogasawara Islands have three guide training
systems, but there are few opportunities for trainedEcotourism in Ogasawara Islands

guides to put their training into practice. Moreover,
it is inefficient and confusing to the tourists that there
are three guide systems operating on two small islands(Chichijima and Hahajima). Therefore an organization such as a Guide Center is necessary in order tocoordinate the contents of the three guide training
systems and to certify excellent guides. It is also
desirable for the Guide Center to provide the guides
information from research by liaising with the Institute of Natural Science for Sightseeing, to establish
conservation areas and period, to permit the entranceof conservation areas, to take a entrance fee, to punish
the certified guides disobedient to decided rules, andintroduce trained guides to sightseers. The Instituteof Natural Science for Sightseeing and the Guide
Center would be symbolic of the Ogasawaras’ sightseeing and nature conservation, like the Charles
Darwin Research Center and the National Park Conservancy in the Galapagos Islands (Tokyo Metropolitan Government, 2001).
7.3 Consensus of opinion
There are two factors promoting ecotourism insocial communities worldwide (Shikida, 2002): movements critical of environmental disruption and movements critical of the decline of the social economy.
In the Ogasawara Islands, an express ship (the TSL) is
expected to bring more sightseers than the
Ogasawara-Maru ferry ship has heretofore. Moreover, some kinds of environmental disruption are already occurring in the Ogasawara Islands today. The
people of the Ogasawaras, especially those engaged in
the sightseeing industry, have a strong movement
critical of environmental disruption, and even those
who are not engaged in it have some concern about
environmental disruption. On the other hand, mostof the Ogasawarans are strongly critical of the decline
in the social economy because public works projects
have been decreasing there rapidly. So the people of
the Ogasawaras have substantially the two factors
bringing a trend towards ecotourism.
The Bonin Ecotourism Commission is working ondrafting a charter for Ogasawara Ecotourism and aprospectus for ecotourism in order to promote a
common consciousness among most of the people of
the Ogasawaras toward ecotourism. It will be difficult, however, to achieve this unification of consciousness only by diffusing these charter and prospectus
because there are different ways of thinking andculture among the five colonies (Conventional, Old,
New and New New Islander, and Shimakko). The
National Land Agency’s Regional Development
Bureau also indicated that it would be difficult toreach a consensus in consciousness among the peopleof the Ogasawaras because of differences in thinking
and activities arising from differences in the background of each culture. Okuda (2002), however, said
that for the introduction of ecotourism to be successful,
it is most important to make a unique plan for eco-27

tourism on the basis of understanding and consensus
of opinion among the local people and to put the plan
into practice. Nakai (2002) also said that to promoteecotourism, it is necessary to provide the local people
a common understanding about the benefits for nature,
culture and society. The key word for common
understanding among the five colonies would be‘nature’ because all five colonies share a love andunderstanding of the unique ecology of the Ogasawara
Islands. In order to achieve a consensus of opinion
on ecotourism in the Ogasawara Islands it would be
preferable to set up a nobler and more convincing goal
for the nature of the Ogasawaras transcending theboundaries of each colony.
I propose making registration for World Heritage(Natural Heritage). The goal would invigorate mostof the people of the Ogasawaras toward the practice of
ecotourism and the process of registration would help
achieve a consensus of opinion on ecotourism among
the five colonies. There are two standards to meet inorder to achieve World Heritage (Natural Heritage)registration. The first standard is prominent and universal natural values in the area to be registered. The
second is that the nature be conserved to a fair degreeby law, regulation or long-term establishment. The
natural environment of the Ogasawaras obviously has
prominent and universal natural value. Iwahashi(2002) also concluded that the hurdles for registering
the Ogasawara Islands for Natural Heritage are much
lower than were those for Yakushima and the
Shirakami Mountains, which achieved Natural
Heritage registry in 1993. Moreover, the naturalenvironment is protected at present by six laws, one
Forest Agency establishment, one Tokyo Metropolitan
Government establishment and two Ogasawara
Village Office ordinances (Kobayashi, 2002). The
level of legal protection of nature in the Ogasawara
Islands is similar to or stricter than that of Yakushimaor the Shirakami Mountains.
Thus, initiating the process toward Natural Heritage registration would be one effective way to promote ecotourism in the Ogasawara Islands. Iwahashi(2002) said that the Ogasawara people must change
their consciousness and lifestyles in order to achieve
World Heritage registry. In order to promote ecotourism in the Ogasawaras, in time it will be important
for the Bonin Ecotourism Commission, which is centrally in charge of ecotourism there, to provide direction to the people of the Ogasawaras and each organization and institute and to control and conserve thenatural environment and culture with balancing utilization and conservation of the sightseeing resources.

Acknowledgments
I thank Dr. K. Horikoshi of Institute of Boninology
and S. Sawaki of Nihon University for their valuablecomments on the manuscript. I am grateful to Prof.
Paul A. Cunningham of Rikkyo University for his

28

S. ICHIKI

invaluable comments and discussion. I also express
my sincere thanks to Prof. N. Okamoto of Rikkyo
University, H. Tsutsui, F. Sato and Dr. K. Mori of
Ogasawara Whale-watching Association, T. Terasakiof Japan Travel Bureau, Ogasawara Tourist Association, Hahajima Tourist Association, Ogasawara Village Society of Commerce and Industry, Ogasawara
Village Office, Bonin Ecotourism Commission, Tokyo
Metropolitan Government, and Forestry Agency for
their useful information and comments.

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