This one is for the map-lovers, because there is no road here at all. Kitanoshima, or North Island, belongs to the Mukojima group, a small cluster of islands in the Ogasawara or Bonin archipelago, about a thousand kilometres south of Tokyo in the Pacific Ocean. The islands were never connected to a continent, which is why their wildlife evolved in isolation, and the whole archipelago was listed as a Natural World Heritage site in 2011.
The only way to reach this part of the ocean is by sea. Regular ferries from Tokyo run to Chichijima, the main inhabited island, and the voyage takes about a day. From there, tour boats and fishing vessels can head out to the nearby island groups, depending on the weather and on rules that restrict landing to protect the fragile ecology. For a motorcyclist, the closest thing to riding is on Chichijima itself, a small island with a handful of coastal and hill roads, mostly narrow, quiet and winding, with views of green hills and blue bays.
What makes the reefs and islands special is life. The surrounding waters hold coral communities, reef fish, and sea turtles, with green turtles nesting on Ogasawara beaches, and humpback whales visit between about January and April. On land, the archipelago is a laboratory of evolution, with endemic land snails, insects and plants found nowhere else. The Bonin flying fox, a large fruit bat, lives on some islands. Invasive species, including goats and rats, have caused problems in the past, and extensive work has gone into restoring native vegetation.
The history is short but vivid. Polynesian and Micronesian visitors may have come earlier, but the islands were first settled in the nineteenth century by a mix of Westerners and Pacific islanders, and then claimed by Japan. During the Second World War the region saw heavy fighting at nearby Iwo Jima, and the islands came under American administration until 1968. Chichijima has the only services, so everything must be arranged there.