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Forty miles off the coast of Japan, on the basaltic island of Aogashima, the locals live life on the
edge. Just 230 years ago, the volcano they live in erupted, killing half of the population.
However, that wont stop Aogashimas 205 residents from living on the caldera of an active
volcano.
island of Aogashima, which is a volcano, has a smaller volcano sitting in the caldera of it.
Now, the lava and ash have cooled down, and greenery has flourished in its place, making it
seem like a beautiful and calm, tropical island. This paradise would eventually be settled by
humans. Though the date of the first settlement is unknown, the island had been mentioned in
During the last eruption in 1785, the locals were alerted early in the morning by earthquakes that
something was about to go wrong. A few hours later, some volcanic debris puffed out of the
smaller, inner volcano. The locals knew they had to escape to the nearby island of Hachijojima,
but only half managed to get away before the volcano erupted a mass of debris, despite all of the
warning signs. A factor that might have played into this is the lack of a good harbor. Although
Aogashima does have a port, the waters are so violent, that even now, around half of all ferry
trips to the island are cancelled. This would have made it much harder for the townspeople of
Aogashima to escape the island, not to mention, some might have died from poor sailing
conditions.
Although the 1785 eruption was devastating to those who lived there, it only took 50 years for
people to move back to the island. And despite the volcanoes bad record, the locals love life on
Aogashima. The island is rich with geothermal activity, so not only do they have heating and
water for cooking provided by the volcano, there are also many hot springs, and a public sauna,
near the center of the island, which are a fantastic pastime for both tourists and local villagers.
Some people even bring food to cook on top of the vents, and the sauna even has a selection of
pots and pans intended for the visitors to use for their volcanic cooking.
Although you might now feel tempted to go visit the volcanic island for vacation, the only way
to reach the island is through a once a day helicopter flight that can seat nine, or a three hour
ferry ride. So, if you have a fear of heights or easily get seasick, then this isnt the vacation for
you.
Citations
Nalewicki, Jennifer. The Sleepy Japanese Town Inside An Active Volcano Smithsonian.
Smithsonian, 5 July. 2016
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/japanese-town-aogashima-active-volcano-180959153/
Smithsonian Institution Aogashima Smithsonian Institution. Smithsonian.
http://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=284060
Brett, Rebecca. Natural saunas, 200 inhabitants and only accessible by helicopter: Welcome to
the Japanese village inside the crater of a VOLCANO Daily Mail. Associated Papers Ltd.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-2722033/Natural-saunas-200-inhabitants-
accessible-helicopter-Welcome-Japanese-village-inside-crater-VOLCANO.html