Mikura Island in the Izu Islands south of Tokyo is a spectacular natural paradise known the world over for its community of bottlenose dolphins, estimated to be almost as numerous as the island's 240 inhabitants.
However, there are favorable and unfavorable consequences of the resulting "dolphin-swim" and dolphin-watching visitors who flock there from April to October.
On the downside, for instance, is the fact that the emphasis on swimming with and watching the dolphins has resulted in an extremely unbalanced view of the value of the island's nature as a whole.
Take, for example, the streaked shearwater, a distant relative of the albatross that spends most of its life at sea but breeds on islands and reefs in the coastal waters of Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan. Of the world's estimated 3 million streaked shearwaters, no fewer than 2 million nest on Mikura Island.
As well as the dolphins and shearwaters, three designated national natural monument bird species -- the Izu Island thrush, Niijima's willow warbler and the Japanese wood pigeon -- are common on Mikura Island, while another national natural monument species, the penguin-like Japanese murrelet, forages in its coastal waters during its April/May breeding season.
In addition, there are two bamboo varieties Mikurazasa and Mikurakozasa -- native to the island and growing in relative abundance at two locations near its summit. And although not yet recognized by the Education Ministry, Japan's largest live oak, with a circumference of 13.79 meters, provides enormous shade in an ancient forest on the southeast side of the island where there are also numerous other oaks that are several hundred years old. This forest, with its tens of thousands of shearwaters in summer, is the most wonderful I have visited in Japan.
Obviously, Mikura Island's lure as an ideal location for world-class eco-tourism cannot be overestimated. However, though its human inhabitants are outstanding in both their friendliness and their closeness to nature, they are clearly aware of the need to limit the numbers of tourists permitted on their island.
Indeed, most are satisfied with current tourist levels and are not interested in the profit-motivated mass tourism that currently threatens the natural beauty and biodiversity of Yakushima, and will do likewise at Ogasawara Islands when faster transport there becomes a reality.
Good eco-tourism, however, has the potential for tourists to interact with wildlife -- such as by swimming with dolphins -- and leads to a desire for greater knowledge, which ultimately results in greater interest in protecting wildlife and nature on a larger-than-local scale. However, such interactions must be of low impact, backed by the legal authority to punish violators of local rules.
What's urgently needed to protect Mikura Island's natural treasures is a greater effort by both the national and Tokyo governments to aid the island's authorities in the difficult task of managing its precious resources. It's a topic I'll be returning to next week.