By DAIKI KOGA/ Staff Writer
July 19, 2024 at 07:00 JST
The Milky Way appears in the southern sky, sprinkled with countless stars as seen from the Akasaki Promenade in the northern part of Kozushima island in Tokyo on June 8. (Kotaro Ebara)
It's difficult for stargazers to believe, but a part of the heavily light-polluted Tokyo metropolis offers some of the darkest night skies in Japan.
Indeed, Kozushima island in the Izu island chain is reminiscent of an astronomical observatory floating in the Pacific Ocean.
Kozushima satisfied the expectations of star watchers when the first quarter moon turned red and descended in the western sky to sink into the dark sea late in the evening of June 12.
The entire island was shrouded in a pitch-black darkness, making the stars look brighter.
The Milky Way, the Big Dipper and Polaris the north star appeared closer and more radiant.
Looking at the sky with binoculars, it was also surprising to find a countless number of small stars twinkling in between larger ones.
Kozushima is located approximately 180 kilometers from the heart of Tokyo and about 55 km from Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture.
It takes less than an hour by plane from the capital's Chofu Airport.
Part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, the island, which measures four kilometers by four kilometers, is home to Kozushima village, with 1,742 people living as of June 1.
According to the Kozushima Tourism Association, the wooden Akasaki Promenade in the northern area is where the stars look the brightest because it is the darkest spot on the island.
At the Arima Observation Deck in the southwestern area, a cross-shaped monument stands out against the backdrop of a starry sky.
Commonly known as Julia's Cross, it was installed in tribute to Julia Otaa, a Korean woman who was brought to Japan by a Christian feudal lord in the 16th century and was eventually exiled to the island for refusing to renounce her faith.
The Miura Bay Observation Deck in the southeastern portion of the island offers a spectacular view particularly when the full moon rises from the horizon.
STARGAZER'S HAVEN
Islanders are making strenuous efforts to protect the pristine night sky.
Since 2017, the tourism association has been offering a training program for starry sky guides.
And when a light pollution prevention ordinance took effect in 2020, 549 anti-crime lamps and street lights were replaced with those designed to reduce the amount of light emitted into the sky.
An Environment Ministry survey found that the island offers one of the darkest night skies in the country.
Such local efforts won recognition from DarkSky International, a global organization comprised of astronomers and other experts. It designated Kozushima as an International Dark Sky Park, a stargazers' version of a World Heritage site.
According to the tourism association, the number of visitors increased after the designation, while stargazing activities are beginning to develop into a new tourism resource.
When starry sky guide Kazuma Yoshimi, 36, was explaining about constellations in the Yotane Square near the village during a stargazing event, a shooting star flashed across the sky.
When the Geminids meteor shower occurred in 2022, several dozen shooting stars and fireballs were seen surging out in a radial pattern from the center of the constellation of Gemini, the guide said.
"When a fireball explodes, the entire sky becomes bright," he said.
'TRAIN OF SATELLITES'
With a bit of luck, artificial satellites operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX can be seen moving across the sky for about two hours after sunset, the guide added.
A string of dozens of satellites traveling across the sky in a single file looks as if it is a "galaxy train," Yoshimi said.
Mount Tenjosan was seen in the north from the square, looming in the dark near the center of the island.
A section of the sky around the mountain was faintly bright, making it difficult to see stars in there.
The faint glow came from the city lights of central Tokyo, the guide said.
It was a rare opportunity to realize that some things cannot be seen because of the effects of light pollution.
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