National Park / World Heritage SitePatrimonio Mundial UNESCO

Ogasawara Islands

Pacific (remote archipelago)Declared in 1972231 km²

Nicknamed the Galápagos of the Orient; reachable only after 24 hours by ferry, with no airport, which has preserved an exceptional endemism

Area

231 km²

Protection category

UICN II

Parque nacional — what the IUCN categories mean

Declared in

1972

Region

Pacific (remote archipelago)

Climate

Tropical, Templado, Polar / frío

Best time

March to May

World Heritage

Plan your visit

Best time: March to May
Area: 231 km²

Highlight

Nicknamed the Galápagos of the Orient; reachable only after 24 hours by ferry, with no airport, which has preserved an exceptional endemism

Declared a national park in 1972 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011, the Ogasawara Islands — nicknamed the Galápagos of the Orient — have never been geologically connected to the Asian mainland, which has produced an exceptional evolutionary endemism. They can be reached only by a 24-hour ferry crossing from Tokyo, with no working commercial airport, a restriction on access that has proved central to protecting their biodiversity from the mass tourism pressure usual at other Japanese island destinations.

Location

See on the interactive map

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1 dive site within 300 km is also shown.

72 species documented in Ogasawara Islands

15 Mammals1 Birds3 Reptiles5 Cartilaginous fish22 Fish2 Bivalvia5 Anthozoa5 Gastropoda6 Malacostraca2 Asteroidea2 Polychaeta1 Turbellaria2 Holothuroidea1 Cephalopoda

At conservation risk:Cachalote,Tortuga verde,Almeja gigante,Caballito de mar amarillo,Cangrejo ladrón,Chucho pintado,Manta de arrecife,Oso marino septentrional,Pepino de mar (sandfish),Pez vela del Indo-Pacífico,Rorcual boreal,Tiburón punta negra de arrecifeand 1 more