2021.04.01

Chichijima Tourism Information~March 2021~

所在地：東京都小笠原村父島

東京竹芝港から出港の「おがさわら丸」で24時間、約1,000kmの道のりの先に存在する、絶海の孤島小笠原。固有の植物や荒々しい野生の動物、暖かい人々の営みをぜひご紹介します！
HP：https://www.ogasawaramura.com/
Twitter：https://twitter.com/vlg_ogasawara

“Bide Bide flowers” are beginning to bloom, signaling the arrival of spring and the departure of previous season.

─▼What kind of climate is Ogasawara in March?▼─────────────── 　

UV rays are very strong in fine weather, so don’t forget to take measures against sunburn ♪ Maximum temperature: 22.0 ℃ Minimum temperature: 16.8 ℃ (from the average taken from the past 5 years) (The temperature may change by ± 3 ℃ from the average) Water temperature: 20.5 ℃ (Futami Bay measurement – historical average)

【clothing】

There are individual preferences, but it is recommended to bring a long-sleeved T-shirt and a jacket. The temperature drops in the morning and evening. It gets cold on days when the northerly wind blows. So please bring a warm jacket, sweatshirt, fleece, and other clothing that do not allow the wind to pass through.

* If you are walking in the mountains, wear long sleeves, long pants, and comfortable shoes. It may get hot and sweaty when you move, so it is recommended that you wear clothes that allow you to control your body temperature. Please bring rain gear such as raincoats in case of rain.

Sea … We recommend wearing a wetsuit. Wipe your body as soon as you get out of the sea and change into dry clothes to warm yourself.

* If you go out to sea by boat or kayak, you will get sunburn more than you will on land due to the sun, the reflection from the sea, the salty sea breeze, and etc. Let’s do it! Don’t forget to rehydrate even when it’s cool! When you go out to sea by boat, please bring a warm jacket, sweatshirt, fleece, and other clothing that do not allow air to pass through.

ＩＮＤＥＸ・・・The content of this month’s issue is━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

『Request for PCR test before boarding Ogasawara Maru』
『Notice from port of call』
『Why don’t you spend Golden Week in Ogasawara? 』\
『A “Poké lid” has been installed on Chichijima! 』\
『Let’s find a shore whales! 』\
『Temporary suspension of Shimapo currency sales』\
『Request for cooperation in the questionnaire』\
『Mini Bonin』

●『Request for PCR test before boarding Ogasawara Maru』●━━━━━━━

A trial of PCR test is being conducted for passengers using the Ogasawara Maru by collecting saliva before boarding. Passengers are requested to submit specimens (saliva), consent forms, and questionnaires collected at home at the Takeshiba Passenger Terminal two days before or one day before the Ogasawara Maru’s departure from Takeshiba. In addition, specimens can now be returned to the terminal for testing by those who live far away or have difficulty submitting specimens during the reception hours. If you choose to use the return specimen service, you will be responsible for the administration fee and shipping costs. However, we would appreciate your cooperation in using the return specimen service and taking the PCR test.

For details, please check the Ogasawara Kaiun website below.

About PCR test　https://www.ogasawarakaiun.co.jp/info/?p=9851 PCR

Acceptance of returned tests　http://www.ogasawarakaiun.co.jp/info/?p=9952

In addition, when using accommodation facilities, restaurants, and tours on the island, we may check whether or not you have taken the PCR test. Please be sure to bring the “Sample Receipt” that you have received when you submitted the sample and the “Copy of Shipping Receipt” when you used the return reception when you come to the island.

Because this is a secluded area that can only be reached by a 24-hour regular boat ride, we need to take all possible measures to prevent the spread of infection. In order to ensure the safety and security of our guests and to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus in Ogasawara Village, we ask for your understanding and cooperation.

●『Notice from port of call』●━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The Ogasawara Maru, which departs from Takeshiba, will make stops at other ports. The Ogasawara Maru will stop at other ports after leaving Takeshiba. This is closer than boarding from Takeshiba! Why don’t you take advantage of these port calls to plan your trip? The following is a list of flights scheduled for this year.

Call at Kurihama (planned): Departure from Takeshiba on April 9th (Friday) and departure from Chichijima on April 13th (Tuesday)

Call at Kurihama (planned): Departs Takeshiba on Thursday, April 22, 3rd year of Reiwa, and departs from Chichijima on Monday, 26th.

Call at Tateyama Port (planned): Departure from Takeshiba on October 15th (Friday), Reiwa 3rd (Tuesday) from Chichijima

Call at Oshima Port (planned): Departure from Takeshiba on Friday, October 22, 3rd year of Reiwa; Departure from Chichijima on Tuesday, 26^th

We kindly ask for your cooperation in preventing the spread of infectious diseases when you visit the island.

Please note that the departure and arrival times of ships that call at ports of call may differ from those of regular ships.

The ships scheduled to depart from Takeshiba on June 24 (Thu) and from Chichijima on June 28 (Mon), 2021 have been cancelled.

For more information, please visit the OgasawaraKaiun website!

https://www.ogasawarakaiun.co.jp/ 　

●『Why don’t you spend Golden Week in Ogasawara?』●━━━━━━━━━ 　　

Golden Week trip (4 / 29-5 / 8) Ogasawara Maru tickets will be on sale from March 11th (Thursday)! This year’s GW is also scheduled to have departure and arrival ships at Ogasawara Maru, increasing the chances of coming to Ogasawara. If you haven’t decided on a Golden Week schedule yet, why not take a trip to Ogasawara?

Whale watching, which is one of the popular activities in Ogasawara, can still be enjoyed during the Golden Week period every year. In addition to that, you can enjoy diving and sea kayaking in the sea, trekking to the popular Heart Rock on the land, walking in the forest and mountains, and touring the old battlefields ♪

Please check the Ogasawara Kaiun website for Ogasawara Maru schedules and tickets!

https://www.ogasawarakaiun.co.jp/ 　　

The website of the Ogasawara Village Tourist Association provides information on accommodation facilities and restaurants, as well as activities and tours that you can enjoy in Ogasawara and corresponding companies. Please use it to plan your trip!

Ogasawara Village Tourist Association　https://www.ogasawaramura.com/ 　　　

We kindly ask for your cooperation in preventing the spread of infectious diseases when you visit the island.

●『“A” Poké lid “has been installed on Chichijima！』●━━━━━━━━

On February 27, the Pokémon manhole “Poké Lid” was set up on Chichijima! Pikachu also appeared on the day. The main street of Chichijima was crowded ♪ There are 4 “Poké lids” installed this time. Venusaur, Charizard, Blastoise, and Myu, a phantom Pokémon, are drawn against the backdrop of a beautiful landscape inspired by the beauty of Ogasawara. These “Poké lids” are scattered between the “B-Ship,” where the office of the Ogasawara Village Tourist Association is located and heading to Futami port. Please look for it when you come to the island ♪

●『Let’s find a shore whales!』●━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 　

“Chichijima Whale Rally-Let’s look for and walk on land whales-” is available at the Ogasawara Village Tourist Association reception window (inside the B-Ship or in the passenger waiting area), so please take advantage of it ♪

The land observation event by the Ogasawara Whale Watching Association (OWA), which is held at the Weather Station Lookout on the evening of the arrival of the Ogasawara Maru every year, is scheduled to start after the emergency declaration in Tokyo is lifted. While listening to the OWA staff’s commentary, you can observe the humpback whale together and participate in it for free! Please use this opportunity as well ♪

　●『Temporary suspension of Shimapo currency sales』●━━━━━━━━━━━ 　　

The suspension period for new sales of the premium accommodation travel gift certificate “Shimapo Currency,” which can be used at 11 islands in the Tokyo Islands and at Takeshiba member stores, has been extended in view of the spread of coronavirus infections. At the moment, the resumption time is undecided, but please check the “Electronic Shimapo” website for details.

New sales suspension period: For the time being from November 28, 2nd year of Reiwa

* Purchased “Shimapo currency” can be used even during the above period.

Electronic Shimapo　 https://shimapo.com/　　

●『Request for cooperation in the questionnaire』●━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 　　

The questionnaire is distributed at the Futami Port Passenger Waiting Area on the day of departure of the Ogasawara Maru, but we ask for your continued cooperation. We will give an original clear file to those who cooperated in the questionnaire, so please cooperate before leaving the port ♪ Furthermore, we are currently distributing a limited number of questionnaires on board the Ogasawara Maru. Why don’t you take the long return trip from Chichijima and look back on your memories of your trip and answer the questionnaire? In order to improve your sightseeing in Ogasawara, please send us your various opinions and impressions regarding your trip to Ogasawara. Thank you for your cooperation!

【Questionnaire distribution location】

① Inside the Futami Port Customer Waiting Area, Ogasawara Village Tourist Association window

② Opposite the 4-deck information center on the Ogasawara Maru ship (unmanned)

●『Mini Bonin』●━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 　

A little local, a little worrisome story “Ogasawara Living” ・・・ Vol.153

◎ Good weather holidays ◎

Ogasawara has days when the weather is nice and you can spend it with short sleeves even in winter. At such times, we recommend walking in the forest or in the mountains.

I went on a forest / mountain walk on a holiday a while ago. However, the altitude of the mountain on Chichijima is about 300 meters at the highest. There are quite a few “mountains” that you can easily climb (walk). In addition, the promenade leading to the observatory is surrounded by trees and there are many quiet places, so you can comfortably stroll in the shade of the trees. And after going down the promenade and passing through the woods, the best view overlooking the sea waiting for you!

When I lived in a metropolitan city, hearing “forest / mountain walking” made me think of an event like an excursion, but on the island, there are forest / mountain walking spots that can be easily accessed, and you can visit it at any time including weekends. It’s been almost two years since I came to Chichijima. There are many places on the island that I haven’t visited yet, so I’ll take a walk through the forests and mountains before the hot summer months.

Please note that there are some areas of Chichijima that can only be accessed by an authorized guide. When planning your trip, please check in advance and join a guided tour if necessary. When using the designated routes (routes that can be used to enter forest ecosystem protection areas), please use the mats set up at the entrance to the routes to remove mud from your shoes, adhesive tape to remove seeds from your clothes, and acetic acid spray to prevent the spread of invasive alien plants. Please cooperate in preventing the spread of alien plants.