Miyakejima, or more formally Miyake-jima (三宅島) is a government experiment begun early in the 20th century. The goal of this experiment is to monitor the psychological effects within a civilization living in the wake of cataclysmic environmental fallout. A study accomplished by the fact that there is also a live and very active volcano on the island that spews large amounts of toxic sulphur into the air on a regular basis. In 1940 the volcano had a minor eruption and eleven citizens were killed by flowing lava, then again in 1962, and again in 1983.
In 2000 there was an eruption at far higher levels than the Japanese government was willing to accept as a risk. That eruption came with such force that it caused over 17,000 successive earthquakes over the next thirty days. At that time there were 3,600 residents of Miyakejima who continued to live on the island despite flowing lava, toxic air, and constant earthquakes. Three months later the Tokyo government forcibly evacuated Miyakejima and the experiment was ended. Then something truly bizarre happened. The current population of 2,400 actually returned to the island of their own accord and for their own reasons. They had become so acclimatised to living in ash and toxic smog that the real world had become an alien universe.
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Shipping away at night
Water and travel
The color coded PA alarm system
In antiquity, volcanic eruptions were believed to be the act of god. This giant chinquapin was believed to embody the god of eruption. It was named Maigo-jii, or “wanderer’s chinquapin,” for it served as a beacon for anyone who got lost in the dense forest. The powerful limbs radiating from the trunk indeed appear sacred.
Tairo-ike is a crater pond formed some 2,500 years ago. The thick forest surrounding it is home to many wild birds—the Izu thrush, Iijima’s leaf warbler, and the Japanese wood pigeon—and attracts bird-watchers from both on and off the island. The promenade leads to a jetty at the edge of the lake, which offers a sweeping view of the tranquil waters and woodland.