Ogasawara Islands – the Chichijima and Hahajima

If you like to watch whale and many different types of dolphin, and also looking for a chance to swim with bottlenose and spinner dolphins, then Ogasawara Islands (also known as Bonin Islands), a remote group of 30 small and flat islands in the Pacific Ocean should be in your travel itinerary. In fact, they have a sweeping, white beach which is also ideal for swimming, but do watch out for highly endangered green where they do come to lay eggs.

Anijima and Chichijima Islands

Ogasawara Islands, about 1,000 km away from Tokyo, were the result by ancient submarine volcano. What I understand is that they are home to more than 140 species of indigenous plants as well as insects such as the Ogasawara damsel fly. You may want to know that of the 97 species of tree on the islands, 73 are endemic.

Out of the 30 Ogasawara Islands, Chichijima (father island) and Hahajima (mother island) are the only inhabited with a population of about 2,500. Their main products are timber and fruit such as pineapples and bananas. True to be believed, Ogasawara is unspoiled and unpolluted, that I think is the reason the waters are crystal-clear and full of coral reefs and tropical fish.

Those who went there have commented that Ogasawara Islands is truly a great place for watching whales and dolphins. I suggest you to take a day trip out to the open sea for an amazing day whale and dolphin watching. While available to see all year round, humpback whales and their calves can usually be seen between February and April, while the best time to see sperm whales is from August to October.