Why this ride
It goes by way of Ogasawara Islands, Ototojima and peripheral reefs, Minamijima and peripheral reefs and back through Ototojima and peripheral reefs. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Yomejima and peripheral reefs and Minamijima and peripheral reefs
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 18 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 20 min
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Nakodojima and peripheral reefs
No road leads to Nakodojima, and for a good reason: it lies in the Pacific about a thousand kilometres south of Tokyo, in the Mukojima group of the Ogasawara or Bonin Islands, and it is a small uninhabited rock surrounded by reef. The name is a joke the old mariners would have enjoyed. In this group of islands, Mukojima means bridegroom island, Nakodo means matchmaker, and the nearby Yomejima means bride, so the three islets together make a wedding party. Access to the Mukojima group is restricted, and visitors need a permit or must go with a licensed tour.
Read the complete Nakodojima and peripheral reefs write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Nakodojima and peripheral reefs comes up about 0 km into the recorded legs. Next is Ogasawara Islands.
2. Ogasawara Islands
About a thousand kilometres south of Tokyo, in the Pacific, a scatter of small volcanic islands sits on the road to nowhere. These are the Ogasawara Islands, also called the Bonin Islands, and they have never been joined to any continent. That isolation is the whole point. Snails, plants and insects have evolved here in ways found nowhere else, which is why UNESCO listed the islands in 2011 and why some people call them the Galapagos of the East.
Read the complete Ogasawara Islands write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 1 km into the recorded legs you reach Ogasawara Islands. Next is Ototojima and peripheral reefs.
3. Ototojima and peripheral reefs
Let us be honest from the start: you will not ride a motorcycle on Ototojima. This small, uninhabited island lies in the Ogasawara archipelago, about a thousand kilometres south of Tokyo in the western Pacific, and it has no roads, no people and strict rules about who can land. What it does have is a remarkable natural world. The Ogasawara Islands, also known as the Bonin Islands, have never been connected to a continent, and their plants and animals evolved in isolation, producing many species found nowhere else. The archipelago was listed by UNESCO in 2011, and Ototojima is one of its most precious parts.
Read the complete Ototojima and peripheral reefs write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ototojima and peripheral reefs, about halfway. Next is Minamijima and peripheral reefs.
4. Minamijima and peripheral reefs
A thousand kilometres south of Tokyo, in the Pacific Ocean, the Ogasawara Islands rise from the sea, a scattered chain of volcanic islands that have never been connected to a continent. Minamijima, a small uninhabited island just off Chichijima, is one of their jewels: a ring of jagged limestone around a sheltered cove, the Ogiura, with white sand, turquoise water and a sinkhole beach that looks like something from a dream. The island and its reefs are part of the Ogasawara Islands World Heritage site, listed by UNESCO in 2011.
Read the complete Minamijima and peripheral reefs write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Minamijima and peripheral reefs sits at 11 km, about halfway. Next is back through Ototojima and peripheral reefs.
5. back through Ototojima and peripheral reefs
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ototojima and peripheral reefs write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Ototojima and peripheral reefs comes up about 11 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Ogasawara Islands.
6. back through Ogasawara Islands
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ogasawara Islands write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 17 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Ogasawara Islands. Next is back through Nakodojima and peripheral reefs.
7. back through Nakodojima and peripheral reefs
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Nakodojima and peripheral reefs write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Nakodojima and peripheral reefs, late in the day. Next is Yomejima and peripheral reefs.
Leg by leg
Nakodojima and peripheral reefs to Ogasawara Islands
Nakodojima and peripheral reefs → Ogasawara Islands is 1 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ogasawara Islands to Ototojima and peripheral reefs
Ogasawara Islands → Ototojima and peripheral reefs is 6 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Ototojima and peripheral reefs to Minamijima and peripheral reefs
Ototojima and peripheral reefs → Minamijima and peripheral reefs is 1 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Minamijima and peripheral reefs to back through Ototojima and peripheral reefs
Minamijima and peripheral reefs → back through Ototojima and peripheral reefs is 1 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ototojima and peripheral reefs to back through Ogasawara Islands
back through Ototojima and peripheral reefs → back through Ogasawara Islands is 6 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Ogasawara Islands to back through Nakodojima and peripheral reefs
back through Ogasawara Islands → back through Nakodojima and peripheral reefs is 1 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.