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▶Climate
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Although it is part of Tokyo, the climate is warmer than that of Kagoshima Prefecture, allowing subtropical plants to grow naturally and flowers to bloom in abundance.
Due to the influence of the Kuroshio Current, the area is hot, humid, and rainy, and the main industries are fishing and ornamental plant cultivation.
The island consists of Hachijojima and the uninhabited island of Hachijokojima, and has five settlements. You can enjoy the charms of both the clear blue sea and the mountains, and the sea, known as Hachijo Blue, is especially popular among divers.
The Freesia Festival is held in early spring, giving you the feeling of being at a tropical resort.
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▶History and Culture
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Hachijojima was used as a place of exile for criminals during the Edo period, and was the first place where Ukita Hideie, one of Toyotomi's Five Elders, was sent as an exile.
He spent about 50 years on the island after his defeat at the Battle of Sekigahara.
Currently, Hideie's grave remains on the island, and you can learn about his history at the Hachijojima History and Folklore Museum.
Merchants from Satsuma introduced the method of making shochu, and today shochu made from a blend of barley and sweet potato is the norm.
Correction: Merchants from Satsuma introduced the method of making shochu, and today it has become an important local product of the island, with a rich lineup including not only sweet potato shochu but also a blend of barley and sweet potato shochu.
Since the 1960s, tourism has flourished and ornamental plants have been cultivated here, with freesias and strelitzias being particularly famous, making the area a popular tourist destination.
Additionally, local specialties such as kusaya and murobushi reflect the local food culture. Murobushi in particular is used in school lunches, and local women are working to revive it.
Furthermore, asa-ba, a specialty of Hachijojima, is highly nutritious and used in a variety of dishes, and is also sold as tea leaves.
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▶Local communities
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The Hachijojima Community Center is a public facility that includes a bowling alley, gymnasium, tennis courts, and library, making it a place where local people can enjoy sports and deepen their connections.
Festivals and events are frequently held to introduce local industries and culture and deepen exchanges. One of these, the Hachijojima Industry Festival, displays and sells Hachijojima's specialty products and tourist information, and allows visitors to enjoy local culture and traditional performing arts, stage events, gourmet food, and more.
Festivals and events are frequently held to introduce local industries and culture and deepen exchanges. One of these, the Hachijojima Industry Festival, displays and sells specialty products that bring together the best of Hachijojima's agriculture, fishing, commerce and industry, allowing visitors to experience what is truly Hachijojima.
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▶Sightseeing & Activities
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Hachijojima is a resort destination that boasts untouched nature and beautiful seas.
It boasts the clearest waters of the Izu Islands, and you can enjoy diving and swimming here.
Correction: The water here is one of the clearest in the country, so you can enjoy diving and swimming.
There are also seven municipal hot spring facilities on the island, each offering their own unique baths.
Bathing at night is especially relaxing as you gaze at the starry sky.
Hachijo Botanical Garden is free to visit, and you can see the tropical atmosphere of the garden and the deer-like animal called the muntjac.
The Hachijojima Freesia Festival is held in mid-March, when approximately 35 colorful freesias bloom with Hachijo Fuji in the background, and you can also enjoy picking freesia flowers.
Correction:
The Hachijojima Freesia Festival is held from late March to early April, when approximately 35 colorful freesias bloom with Hachijo Fuji in the background. You can also enjoy picking freesia flowers.
You can also enjoy a variety of activities, such as hiking, diving, and experiencing the traditional craft of Kihachijo weaving.
▶Hachijo Fuji
https://www.hachijo.gr.jp/specials/trekking/
Hachijo Fuji, with an elevation of 854m, is the highest peak in the Izu Islands.
The "Ohachi Meguri" tour around the crater is a spectacular sight. In spring, freesias bloom in abundance at the base of the mountain, and the beauty of this sight is a must-see.
There is a ring road so you can enjoy driving around.
▶Urami Falls
https://kokkyo-info.go.jp/725/
Uramigataki Falls is where you can experience "viewing a waterfall from behind."
The waterfall pours down like a shower, and you can enjoy the spray from behind it.
▶ Sueyoshi Onsen "Miharashi no Yu"
https://www.hachijo.gr.jp/hotspring/miharashi/
There are two types of baths, a fully open-air bath and a semi-open-air bath, with spectacular views of the deep blue ocean below.
Men and women alternate every other day.
It is open from early in the morning every New Year's Day so you can see the first sunrise of the year.
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▶Immigration Information
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Hachijojima can be accessed by boat or plane, and there are many privately owned shops and souvenir stores on the island, where you can also enjoy fresh, locally produced fish.
The population, which exceeded 1980 until the 10,000s, has now fallen to about 40 in the 7,200 years since. Like other municipalities, the population is aging.
Currently, the island has a wide range of support for child-rearing, with three nursery schools, and services such as medical subsidies for children, child allowances, parent classes, newborn visits, a child and family support center, temporary childcare services, and even childcare services for elementary school students.
The town's Hachijo Hospital is a general hospital with departments of internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, and obstetrics and gynecology, and is a rare environment among remote islands where you can give birth and raise a child there.
