Hachijojima

Kanto, Japan · Remote island, Sea / Beach, Mountain

Two volcanoes joined by a plain 290 kilometres from Tokyo and still inside the metropolis. The western one is roughly one thousand two hundred and eighty shadeless steps up to a path around the crater; the eastern one is tree-fern forest with a free open-air bath sunk into the undergrowth. Humpback whales pass from late November into April, fungi glow in the summer woods, and the freesias flower in March. The sushi comes with mustard, not wasabi.

The essentials

Getting there

Ferry or plane — ANA flies from Haneda (Tokyo) three times a day (7:35, 12:15 and 15:50 in September 2026) in about 55 minutes, for around ¥28,000 return on discount fares; Tokai Kisen's overnight ferry leaves Takeshiba daily at 22:30 (about 10 min walk from Hamamatsucho) and arrives at 8:55 after calling at Miyakejima and Mikurajima, from ¥12,140 in 2nd class, docking at Sokodo or Yaene depending on the sea. Winter winds and typhoons (August-October) cancel sailings and sometimes flights. On the island, rent a car: buses are sparse and taxis few.

Frequently asked questions about Hachijojima

What to do in Hachijojima: 28 activities

• Hachijo-Fuji climb and crater rim walk (Ohachi-meguri) 4 h must-see

  The western volcano (854 m) is climbed from the seventh-station car park up roughly 1,280 shadeless steps (about an hour), and at the top a path circles the crater with ocean on both sides. After the October 2025 typhoons parts were closed by landslides; the climb was announced as reopened in September 2026, but hikers are asked to keep away from the crater edge near the summit and a guide is recommended: check the status of the rim loop at the tourist office. You must file a hiking notice with the police (QR code at the trailhead) and should not go in fog or strong wind. Only reachable by car or taxi.

• Shimazushi, ashitaba and island cooking 1.5 h must-see

  The local sushi uses the catch of the day marinated in soy and, instead of wasabi, karashi mustard; eat it at the sushi bars and restaurants of Mitsune and Okago or as a bento for the mountain. Also try ashitaba, the island's signature greens, as tempura or with soba, and passion fruit or Hachijo lemon for dessert. Many restaurants close one weekday and some mid-afternoon: book dinner.

• Diving with turtles in Kuroshio waters 4 h booking

  The warm Kuroshio current brings clear water, corals and very frequent green turtles; dive shops in Mitsune and Okago run shore dives (Nazumado, Yaene) and boat dives, sometimes out to Hachijo-kojima. Try-dives for beginners are available. Book ahead and expect cancellations in typhoon season (August-October).

• Freesia Festival 2 h only late March to early April

  Some 350,000 freesias bloom at the Hachijoyama field (Okago) and you can pick up to ten per person for free; there are stalls of island produce and performances. In 2026 it ran from 20 March to 5 April; dates change every year.

• Glowing mushroom night walk 1.5 h booking Nakanogo (Hachijo) · 20 min only 25 Jul - 30 Sep

  Hachijojima has the greatest variety of bioluminescent fungi in Japan, glowing green on dead wood on humid summer nights. The local NPO runs its Night Walk in the Nakanogo forest: in 2026, from 25 July to 30 September, 19:30-21:00, ¥4,000 (children 5-12 ¥3,000), maximum 20 people, booking via LINE only until noon on the day. It goes ahead in rain; wear long sleeves and repellent. Out of season there's a display at the Visitor Center.

• Hachijo taiko and Kashitate dance at the Hattori residence 1 h Kashitate (Hachijo) · 15 min

  The old residence of the Hattori family, who looked after the shogunate's ships, with a garden of centuries-old cycads; at 10:00 on scheduled days there's a short show of Kashitate dance and Hachijo taiko, played by two people on either side of the drum. Open 9:00-15:00 with irregular closures; ¥350. Check the performance calendar on their website: shows are sometimes called off when boats or flights are cancelled.

• Hachijojima History and Folklore Museum 1.5 h

  Reopened in October 2025 after renovation, in the former sub-prefecture office (1939, a registered cultural property): over 1,500 items on Edo-period exiles, kihachijo silk, fishing and island life. Daily 9:00-16:30; ¥500. In Okago, five minutes' drive from the airport with a bus stop outside.

• Humpback whales from land or by boat 2 h only 20 Nov - 10 Apr

  From late November to early April humpback whales pass close to the island and are often seen from land (Nanbara, the sea-view outdoor baths, the Kirameki foot bath); the tourist office runs live cameras. It organises trips on local fishing boats and coastal bus tours, with a five-person minimum and no guaranteed sighting or refund; boat trips are for school age and up. Westerly winds can make the sea rough.

• Izakaya night in Mitsune: kusaya and shochu 2 h

  Nightlife on the island means the izakaya and small bars of Mitsune. Try kusaya, dried fish cured in a fermented brine that is reused for generations: it smells very strong and tastes far gentler, ideally with a glass of local sweet-potato shochu. Many close early and some need a booking; there's no public transport at night, so stay within walking distance or book a taxi early, as there are few.

• Kihachijo silk at the Meyu Kobo workshop 1 h Nakanogo (Hachijo) · 20 min

  Kihachijo is the island's yellow, brown and black silk, dyed only with local plants (kariyasu grass, mamaki and chinquapin bark) and hand-woven; it is a nationally designated traditional craft. At the Meyu Kobo workshop in Nakanogo you can see the dyed skeins and the looms, and they sell small pieces; open daily 9:00-12:00 and 13:00-17:00 (groups by reservation). A kimono costs hundreds of thousands of yen.

• Miharashi no Yu, bathing above the Pacific 1.5 h Sueyoshi (Hachijo) · 30 min

  The municipal onsen at Sueyoshi, on the far south-east tip, has a large outdoor bath above the cliffs with the open Pacific ahead and the Ishizumi lighthouse in view; stars at night, and in winter the occasional whale blow. 10:30-21:30 (last entry 21:00), closed Tuesdays except holidays and summer; ¥500, cash only.

• Nanbara Senjojiki lava coast at sunset 1 h

  A black basalt lava flow that Hachijo-Fuji poured into the sea, facing the silhouette of uninhabited Hachijo-kojima: this is the island's sunset spot, and in winter whales are sometimes seen. Free, about ten minutes by car from the airport; watch the swell on the rocks and wear proper shoes, as the lava is sharp.

• Okago's round-stone walls and the island of exiles 1 h

  Okago's lanes keep their tamaishigaki, walls of rounded boulders carried up by hand from the Nazumado shore; tradition says exiles built them in exchange for food. In the same district is the grave of Ukita Hideie, the daimyo defeated at Sekigahara who arrived in exile in 1606 and lived here nearly fifty years. A free walk on foot.

• Sokodo Beach: swimming and sea turtles 3 h

  The most comfortable swimming beach (black volcanic sand), next to Sokodo port and a few minutes from central Mitsune; a breakwater creates a calm area where you can often snorkel with sea turtles. Lifeguards only in season (18 July to 23 September in 2026, 8:30-17:00); outside it, or with a groundswell running, don't swim alone.

• Summer festivals: matsuri, fireworks and bon odori 3 h only 15 Jul - 15 Aug

  The Hachijojima Natsu Matsuri (18-19 July in 2026) fills the harbour with stalls and a stage; around 11 August some 650 fireworks are launched remarkably close to the crowd, and on 13-15 August there's bon odori with taiko in the villages. Confirm dates each year with the tourist office; flights and rooms fill up in summer.

• Uramigataki Onsen, in the jungle 1 h Nakanogo (Hachijo) · 20 min

  A free open-air pool beside the stream, surrounded by ferns. It is the island's only mixed bath and swimwear is compulsory; there are no showers, soap isn't allowed and the changing area is basic. Open 9:00-21:00 every day. After dark, with no lights around, it's a different experience.

• Drive around the island through its five villages 3 h

  The ring road links Mitsune and Okago, on the plain between the two volcanoes, with greener, rainier Kashitate, Nakanogo and Sueyoshi to the south and east: passion-fruit orchards, palm groves grown for florists' foliage, stone walls and tiny harbours. It's hard without a car (sparse buses, few taxis) and petrol stations are few and close early. Some mountain roads remain closed after the 2025 typhoons.

• Fureai Bokujo farm on the slopes of Hachijo-Fuji 1 h

  A municipal pasture halfway up Hachijo-Fuji, on the way to the trailhead, with grazing cows and a wide view over the airport, the town and Mt Mihara. Free; the rest hut opens 9:00-16:00, and only in Golden Week, summer, New Year and spring break is local-milk ice cream and pudding on sale. Watch the cows from a distance rather than touching them, and they are sometimes rotated to another pasture; it's cooler up here and the tap water isn't drinkable.

• Hachijo Botanical Park and Visitor Center 1 h

  A free park by the airport with palms and subtropical plants, a greenhouse and a Visitor Center (9:00-16:45) explaining the island's volcanoes, glowing mushrooms and wildlife. Part of the park is still closed after the 2025 typhoon damage, and it shuts temporarily when a typhoon approaches. It has an enclosure of kyon, a small Chinese deer classed as an invasive species: these are captive animals, not local wildlife.

• Iounuma Pond and the forests of Mt Mihara 2.5 h Nakanogo (Hachijo) · 20 min

  The older eastern volcano (Mt Mihara, 701 m) is covered in damp tree-fern forest; the walk to the milky green sulphur pond of Iounuma is open, but after the 2025 typhoons many Mihara trails and forest roads remain closed (including the Mihara forest road), so the tourist office recommends going with a guide and checking first, including for Karataki Falls. Mud and slippery rocks, no facilities; file a hiking notice with the police.

• Neighbourhood onsen: Fureai no Yu and Yasuragi no Yu 1 h Kashitate (Hachijo) · 15 min

  The municipal baths of the southern villages, where locals soak after work: Fureai no Yu (Kashitate), built entirely of hinoki cypress with an outdoor bath, opens 10:00-22:00 and closes Mondays; Yasuragi no Yu (Nakanogo) opens 10:00-21:00 and closes Thursdays. ¥300 each, cash only; towels are sold separately.

• Osaka Tunnel lookout 0.5 h

  A stop on the ring road between Okago and Kashitate, high on the cliff: from here you see Hachijo-Fuji, the Okago coast and Hachijo-kojima together, and it's another good sunset spot. Small free car park. (The other big lookout, at Noboryo Pass, has been cut off since June 2026 by a landslide on its access road.)

• Snorkelling the Nazumado rock pools 2 h

  A lava shelf in Okago with natural pools and an opening to the open sea, one of the island's best-known shore snorkelling and diving spots for tropical fish. No lifeguards and no sand: you get in over rock, in reef shoes, and only when the sea is calm, because the current and swell here are serious.

• Starry skies away from the lights 1 h

  Some 290 km from Tokyo and with little light outside Mitsune, from Nanbara or the outdoor bath at Miharashi no Yu you can see the Milky Way on moonless nights. Bring a torch and take care on the narrow, unlit mountain roads; some local guides run night outings.

• The island's shochu distilleries 1.5 h booking

  Sweet-potato shochu came to Hachijojima in the 19th century with Tanso Shoemon, a Satsuma merchant exiled here who taught distilling at a time when grain was scarce. Four distilleries remain (Hachijojima Shuzo, Hachijo Kohatsu, Sakashita Shuzo and Kashitate Shuzo); visits are by prior reservation only and they close on Sundays or holidays, so phone ahead. Island shops offer tastings of more than ten brands.

• Uramigataki Falls 0.5 h Nakanogo (Hachijo) · 20 min

  A small waterfall in the Nakanogo forest, famous because the path ran behind the curtain of water; since the 2025 typhoons you can only walk up to the front of the falls and back, as the route behind is closed. A short, free, slippery walk; pair it with the onsen just below.

• Borawazawa harbour onsen 0.5 h Sueyoshi (Hachijo) · 30 min

  A bathhouse beside the tiny Borawazawa fishing harbour in Sueyoshi, built for the fishermen: a very hot saline tub, no frills, with the sound of the sea. Free; 9:00-21:00, closed Mondays. It's a short hop from Miharashi no Yu.

• Kirameki sea-view foot bath 0.5 h Nakanogo (Hachijo) · 20 min

  A free foot bath on a rise in Nakanogo with 180 degrees of ocean in front: a ten-minute stop on the island loop and one of the places where whales are sometimes seen in winter. Open 11:00-17:00 daily.

What only happens on specific dates

• Humpback whales from land or by boat 20 Nov - 10 Apr
• Freesia Festival late March to early April
• Glowing mushroom night walk 25 Jul - 30 Sep
• Summer festivals: matsuri, fireworks and bon odori 15 Jul - 15 Aug

Chains well with

More destinations in Kanto