AOGASHIMA: THE VILLAGE LOCATED INSIDE A VOLCANO

CRISTIAN ALVAREZ ALVAREZ

UNIVERSITY OF NARIÑO
DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS AND LANGUAGES
SAN JUAN DE PASTO
2019
AOGASHIMA: THE VILLAGE LOCATED INSIDE A VOLCANO

CRISTIAN ALVAREZ ALVAREZ

PROFESSOR: JUAN ESTEBAN LOPEZ

UNIVERSITY OF NARIÑO
DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS AND LANGUAGES
SAN JUAN DE PASTO
2019
 AOGASHIMA: THE VILLAGE LOCATED INSIDE A VOLCANO

In this work, it is going to explain about the village Aogashima which is located

inside a volcano, its eruption, and how to arrive there, and what there are in the village to

that people can survive.

Aogashima is a volcano Japanese island in the Philippine sea; this is administrated

by Tokyo, and it is approximately 358 kilometers south of Tokyo. This island is the

southernmost and isolated inhabited island of the Izu archipelago. Furthermore, the area of

the island is 8.75 km2, and its population is about 170 making it the least populated place in

the country. An interesting fact is that this volcanic island has another small volcano inside

it. This small volcano is called Maruyama which is a boiler that is currently emitting

geothermal steam around an area where there are plants. Also, the volcano has a large

crater, measuring 1.5 to 1.7 kilometers in diameter.

 On the other hand, it is going to talk about the eruption of this volcano. According

to Thuras and Mosco (2018) “in 1985, a violent eruption wiped out almost half the island

population” that is, in 1985 lived 320 people, but when the volcano exploded killing

approximately 130 of them; that is, almost 50% of the population died. After that, those

who were left alive decided to leave the island, and 50 years later, villagers returned to

Aogashima. Moreover, Aogashima is still considered an active Class C volcano.

Under other conditions, to arrive there is difficult, but people who live there have

been able to adapt so that their population will not decay. There are only two option two

arrive here. The first one, it is by bout, and the second by helicopter. Even though the island

does not have a real port to anchor boats due to the steep cliffs of layers of volcanic

deposits that surround the whole island, boats can arrive with people and food. Also, as it

said before, people and food can arrive by helicopter which is provided by the TOKYO

ISLAND transfer service. In this way, an important aspect here is that the helicopter was

inaugurated in 1993, and it travels once a day and only carries a maximum of 9 passengers.

these two means of transport depart from Hachijojima, the closest island about 60

kilometers away from Aogashima.

Finally, there are some interesting aspects that can be found in this village which

allow a population like this one to survive. For example, In the center of the island there is

a geothermal sauna. In addition, there is a public center that uses geothermal energy, and

people use it for cooking. This kitchen with geothermal steam is available free of charge.

Further, in this village, it can find fresh steamed vegetables, potatoes or eggs which are one
of Aogashima's specialties. The village also has a sauna, a public bath and hot showers, and

There is a salt factory on this island from which residents extract salt by heating seawater in

volcanic craters until the water evaporates. This salt is rich in minerals and calcium.

Moreover, there is a school, post office, campsites, restaurant and bars that over time have

been improving to offer the tourist an increasingly comfortable environment.

 Conclusion

This place is really interesting due to the fact of where it is located, and how its

inhabitants are able to live after the volcano exploded and that nowadays it is still active.

this may scare, but the villagers have been able to adapt to this environment so that their

culture, their history, their lifestyle do not die.

This is a clear example of how a community is rooted in their places of origin and

decide not to abandon it despite of the difficulties they have had, and how this society was

able to get ahead by providing education, food, and turning it into a tourist place

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