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only Japan
welcome to Olga's awara the Bonin
Islands in English this is chichi Jima
it's a 24-hour 1000 kilometer ferry ride
from the city of Tokyo into the Pacific
to here which is paradise and actually
Tokyo many people refer to this as the
Galapagos of the East it is beautiful
and if you make that 24 hour boat ride
you're rewarded with delicious food
friendly people
pristine beaches awesome scuba diving
and views like this
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it's hard to believe this is part of
Tokyo the Ogasawara archipelago truly is
one of the jewels of Japan it all starts
with the ferry a 24 hour trip from the
city center the boat is always a welcome
sight in town arriving passengers are
given an island welcome many people turn
out for the once-a-week event after a
full day on board it's a pleasure to
finally arrive
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all right we're here it's hot
what an amazing trip it's been 25 24 and
a half 25 hours we're finally here
Olga's Ilana you get off of the boat
you're greeted with music it's a really
warm welcome and just looking around you
can see tons of hotels tons of dive
shops everybody finding where they're
gonna be going next it's really warm I
like it like literally this warm people
and warm temperature I got to get inside
I need a drink
while I make my way to the hotel let's
see where exactly Olga Sawada is in
Tokyo there's the mega drop Allah spread
out on the coast the ferry departs
weekly from takeshiba port near Hamamoto
Cho's station then you have to travel
1,000 kilometers from the mainland out
into the Pacific passing all other Tokyo
islands like Hachi Joe Jima and alga
Shima the archipelago is referred to as
the Bonin Islands and only two islands
are inhabited chichi Jima with about
2,000 people and haha Jima which is
around 440 hold us I want a village on
chichi Jima is the heart of the
archipelago where the local government
resides my hotel was also the first
hotel on the island town house meet su
is where the US military gate was in the
1950s and 60s and where journalists
stayed to cover the island when it
opened up after the handover to Japan in
1968 it's comfortable and locally run
very close to the port this is also
where I realize that the island was once
San Francisco California nine six six
thirty six the address written on a buoy
half a century ago
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the best way to get around the island is
by motorbike and you can rent 50 cc
bikes with an international or Japanese
driver's license motorbikes or scooters
offer you the freedom to explore at your
own pace
but beware you need to reserve one well
in advance just like your hotel they
sell out fast and high season
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focus on what a village is much bigger
than I thought it would be there are
many restaurants izakaya and cafes to
keep you happy and full the island
depends on the weekly ferry for many
supplies like fresh fruits vegetables
and other perishables best to stock up a
few hours after it arrives the town is
comfortable parks and places to relax
several cafes and picnic tables for
lunch
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and it's never too far from a beautiful
beach by the port there's a monument to
Commodore Perry who stopped here on the
way to a doe in 1853 the history of the
island starts as a whaling town the
founder Nathaniel savoury from Boston
who brought colonists from Hawaii here
in 1830 the islands population is a
mixed race a place where American
European and Pacific Islanders have
lived together for generations and peace
a reason why the Islanders here are so
friendly to outsiders to learn more
about the islands past I went to pat in
the owners family can trace their
ancestry back to the islands founder
it's one of the newest hotels on the
island and has a delicious Western menu
i sat down with shosei bode who is the
sixth generation of c-body to be born on
the island he has a lot of insight into
the islands history America no
Massachusetts in there Hawaii from the
Tomita ethnic Hawaii definite opini now
come at a Tunisian onion you can join in
Greenwich don't touch the day soon when
he too talkative me how I know Naruto
Carra yeah unique study aquaszero to
route ominous neck so if humpback
where'd that okita-san the talk we
didn't know about or know co-taught have
a poly crystalline Oh Albertina adorn
Indian if Titleist a meeting on there he
only could have actual etosha fukuju de
autobús Auto stay cocconi with the fin
docket if me after World War two the
u.s. took over the island and shows
father's generation learned at American
schools until 1968 because my generation
my grand parents cannot speak English so
my father talk talks with them in
Japanese and then but go when go out go
out of house so many the many US Navy
being their children also went to the
school with Ireland together
and then speak only English so you found
a generation all of the people on the
island from your father's generation
tell me pretty good English pretty good
English also all the people as well can
I think NATO almost native English but
they said some of them said I forgot
English but for me it's native
this is an abandoned air raid shelter
for the Japanese military during World
War two it remains here in decay
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you'll also find a lot of rex cannons
and guns in the jungle like this one
they lie where they were left a reminder
of the islands past it was at that time
that former President George Bush a
pilot in the US Navy was shot down he
was the only survivor of a horrific
ordeal on the island but President Bush
returned to chichi Jima in 2002 to
remember those that were lost on that
tragic day and put the events behind him
a lot of life was lost in the islands
war days which is why Islanders now are
very protective of the life around it
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over the course of the last 10 days of
staying on this island I've had to walk
through that tunnel about a dozen times
and I gotta tell you every time has been
especially after dark nerve-racking
because somebody told me that in there
are ghosts and now this tunnel is a
shortcut it was created by the Japanese
army about 75 years ago and it cuts
straight through the to the ferry
terminal from town house Mitsui it's so
convenient and yet it's so scary you can
go around on this road but it wasn't
built seventy-five years ago this was
the tunnel doesn't seem to have any
background story but it's a reminder of
the islands purpose during the war until
1968 the island was used by both
Japanese and US military the tunnel the
first thing you see after leaving the
ship it's scary
do you think it's haunted this is
eco-village Poulin located in the
islands jungle
the owner is Shimizu son who used to be
a Japanese salary man in Tokyo but moved
here out of concern for the condition of
nature in the oceans and changed his
life to live sustainably to protect it
he's inspiring others to do the same
with his guest house everybody can
change change their life there I tried
to live protect nature protect something
protect the ocean I tried to change my
life Naumann s leukemia Unni ASCII data
is legacy data Sarah Cara Moscow is to
change the istick tall long-legged or
Devin iconic acquiesce a catalyst Terry
Stotts Kangana shizuka-chan sir yes can
I come with you tonight you know the
islands are now a protected refuge a
wildlife sanctuary set up on the east
side of the island
the archipelago is also a UNESCO World
Heritage Site
come
Shimizu sounds guesthouse is almost
entirely eco-friendly including the
toilets over time it becomes fertilizer
which he uses for the banana trees out
back the guest house has plumbing but
they do collect rainwater and laundry
water to be used in the toilets in the
bath
there's homemade shampoo and soap living
in the jungle and harmony with nature is
the theme of pool on jungle life can
also be classy nearby as you see a
coffee farm and cafe
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they grow and roast their own beans a
cup of hot or iced coffee isn't cheap
but it's fun to taste the beans of the
island at its best when it comes to
being on top there's no higher place
than Mount Chuo in the center of the
island at three hundred and nineteen
meters or about 1,050 feet it offers a
panoramic view of the jungles below it
truly is spectacular and so are the
beaches there are loads of them
many completely empty with long views of
the Pacific from the weather station in
town you'll get a bird's-eye view of the
rocky coast and bone in blue Pacific
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and on days without clouds and island
sunset that you'll never forget
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one of the activities that you can do on
chichi Jima is jungle tracking you have
to leave town for that
having a guide is useful if not
essential to learn about the phonons
surrounding history from the hilltops
you'll get views of empty beaches and
hidden stories of the past in the
surrounding jungle like here this
searchlight still sits in the place with
the Japanese military left it actually
the roads of chichi Jima don't go all
over the island there are places where
the road stops and you have to actually
walk these nature trails and it's really
good to have a guide to point you in the
right direction and to give you some
details on the nature that's around you
but it's sort of part of the TT Jima
Olga's Iwata experience most of the
island is jungle and the road on the
east side curves around the island
sanctuary
when you do come upon trails you have to
have a permit or guide for most of them
and clean your boots and spray to
minimize seeds and spores from the
outside
there are places where the jungle is
extremely thick and places were thins
near cliffs where you can enjoy an epic
view of the ocean
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look down there not a soul around why
because it takes a few hours to hike
down there from the main road but it's
so worth it most of the beaches on the
west side are quite easy to get to
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we'll explore the pristine Minami Chima
next time where the turtles lay their
eggs and marine life part of why this is
called the Galapagos of the hist and
we'll dive deep into the sea in search
of adventure
there's no telling what we'll find out
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honestly the sea is like an aquarium
here the deep color of the Pacific here
known as bone in blue so this is the
moment when we say goodbye to everybody
from odessa wada we're going back to
Tokyo the city it is kind of a tradition
they play taiko drums and you get these
reeds these are all handmade headdress
and the story goes that when you leave
the island as the ship is pulling away
you take these off and you throw them
into the water and if they float back to
land the means you're coming back and
I'm definitely unbecoming back bogus
owada it was a great time the send-off
is one of the most extraordinary in all
of the world there are no flights here
only this large ferry so the port is
where every goodbye is said it's
emotional to see so many of the
Islanders here to wave and wish you a
bon voyage how you feel at this point
depends on how connected you become to
the island
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after ten days I felt like I was leaving
family behind the islands hospitality
making you warm on arrival and giving
you chills upon departure the gap slowly
parts Islanders approaching and coming
all the way to the edge that connection
between you and the island widening
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I know they'll float back to land where
I will once again step foot on Olga's
Awana for another warm embrace
but this is not the end it seems every
available boat is ready and waiting to
escort you safely out to sea
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boat captains throttle to keep pace
passengers waving tirelessly
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when the boats can no longer keep pace
there's one last show of love and
respect
locals will jump into the sea sometimes
flipping with daredevil moves so you
will not forget them it's always the
last thing you see from the boat of the
harbour and it's hard not to tear up
the ferry picks up more speed central
Tokyo 24 hours away but I already know
I'll be back someday to Olga's I wanna
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