Japan
Aogashima
A volcanic crater inside a volcanic crater where 170 people live at the ocean's mercy.
The helicopter banks sharply and drops into a volcanic crater. Aogashima is an island inside a volcano inside the Philippine Sea, 358 kilometres south of Tokyo and reachable only when the weather cooperates — which, in winter, it frequently does not. Fewer than 170 people live here, and on some days the helicopter carries only mail.
Aogashima is a double volcanic caldera — the outer rim forms the island's steep cliffs, while a secondary cone called Maruyama rises from the caldera floor. The island has no harbour capable of receiving large vessels; supplies arrive by helicopter or a small boat that cancels in rough seas. Geothermal vents on the caldera floor produce steam used for cooking, and the island's hinojo shōchū — distilled from a local herb — is produced in one of Japan's smallest distilleries. Light pollution is nonexistent, making Aogashima one of the finest stargazing locations in the Pacific.
Solo
Getting here is half the adventure. The island's inaccessibility and tiny population create a solitude that feels earned, not arranged.
Friends
The journey alone — helicopter gambles, volcanic camping, stargazing from a caldera floor — is the kind of story that binds a group together.
- A volcanic island inside a volcanic caldera, accessible only by helicopter or rough seas permitting.
- The entire population is under 200 — everyone knows each other by name.
- Geothermal steam vents cook eggs and sweet potatoes underground at the caldera floor.
- Stars blaze overhead with zero light pollution — the Milky Way reflects off the crater lake.
Hingyano-netsuke — salt-preserved fish slow-cooked in geothermal steam vents.
Shochu distilled from sweet potatoes grown in volcanic soil, drunk in the communal sauna.
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