RioVida Asia

History Island of rich humanity where nature and culture harmonized

Izu Oshima is the largest of all Izu Islands, lies a one hour plane ride away from Tokyo on the Pacific Ocean. Class A active volcano Mt.MIHARA familiarized by islanders as GOJINKA "Sacred Fire" is calmly letting off the steam today. Oshima has many natural hot springs and has beautiful, lush landscape, and beautiful beaches. Fishing in the clear water is most likely going to meet with success. The islands farmers produce mostly fresh, organic vegetables.Tourists love to come to Oshima to deeply relax in the beautiful and tranquil environment. Oshima has about 9000 inhabitants. Most of the island is covered by protected parkland, forests, and fields. Recently fast DSL connections have made it a popular executive retreat. The islands' inhabitants are advanced and involved with an experiment for creating self cleaning water sources.

Oshima offers many fun actitivies for families.

PALAIS-LA-MER”(Oshima Seashell Museum)

The Museum of rare seashell collection This museum was established upon mainly the seashell collected over the years by Mr.Tadashi Kusakari, the first museum director who then worked in the Tokyo Metropolitan fisheries experimental station and with the donations of seashell-collection and cooperation by his friends, Mr.Akira Suda and Mr.Hiroshi Itou among other supporters. Offer an outdoor class room for children. The program includes collecting the seashell in rock pools and making the specimens of the catch and so on.

“TSUBAKI” Camellia Garden

The Camellia tree known for camellia oil and exquisite charcoal used in the tea ceremony. The ANKO figure conveys the tradition of the island to the present days, are the time old symbols of Oshima island.

The “TSUBAKI” Camellia Garden where there are 3,700 trees of the 450 varieties of horticulture kinds and approximately 5000 trees of Camellia Japonica of wild growth kinds, flowering inside an extensive garden of 7ha(1.5 times the area of Tokyo Dome)is the Japan's largest of its kind. Original seedling came from “ANGYOU” (The home of garden trees) of Saitama Prefecture in around 1940, Since 1957, the number of varieties had reached around 100, consequently the collection started to be successfully prepared as a foundation of the Camellia Garden. As for the place of production of Camellia, many were produced mainly in Kanto district, and the large flowers such as “AKASHI-GATA”and “OO-NIJI”are the most conspicuous of all the existing varieties. The flowering time in the garden is usually November to April, and especially between Jan to March when the flowers are in full bloom.

"Isu-Ebi" and “KUSAYA”-Dried Horse Mackerel, Natural sea salt refined from the local ocean.

The COASTAL PROMENADE (Hiking Course) Moreover, there is an extensive open grass field overlooking “BOSO” Peninsula in the seaside of “A Round Oshima Road” where the many of the subtropical plants and plants of Izu islands such as camellia are grown to view. If combined with the Camellia Garden, this botanical garden extends to 22ha (4.7 times the area of Tokyo Dome).

The Island was formed by under sea volcano of Mt.FUJI volcanic zone, and Mt.MIHARA (764m) the triple style stratovolcano, rise high over the central part of near an ellipse shape island. It is known as one of the world's three mobility volcanoes ranks with Kilauea in Hawaii and Stromboli in Italy. It has been made clear that early inhabitant's lived on the Oshima Island since around 8000 years ago.

The island was first governed by the KUNINO-MIYATSKO, and later in KAMAKURA period it was subjected to the land of the KAMAKURA SHOGUNATE. Then the time passed through the Muromachi period, the age of civil wars and the TOKUGAWA period, and eventually it was within the jurisdiction of NIRAYAMA, ASHIGARA, and SHIZUOKA PREFECTURE after the MEIJI RESTORATION. And finally, it became an exercise jurisdiction of Tokyo Prefecture in 1878.

With the Enforcement of Tokyo Metropolitan Administration, the island is attached to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government since 1943. In January 1946, just after the end of the war, although Izu Oshima was dissociated from the Japanese Government Administration and temporarily became controlled under the military control of Allied Force in Japan, it was returned to the Japanese Government Administration in March of the same year. The former Rokkason ( Six villages) were amalgamated and renamed as Oshima -town in 1955.

Although Izu Oshima is in the spotlight also as an "Island of disaster prevention" by the Survey equipments, the Measure for Eruption control Institution and Intergraded Measure for lava flow Control Enterprise established on the island after the Mt.Mihara volcano eruption in 1986, Izu Oshima has actually been rather more familiarized as "An island of relaxation" where well employed the special features of an oceanic nature park and yet as the "Refreshing island resort" that is ultimate, natural antidotes to stress, located in the closest to a metropolitan area, since it's temperate climate and magnificent natural scene has been incorporated into FUJI HAKONE IZU NATIONAL PARK in 1964.