Hokutōkojima

Overview

Hokutokojima is an uninhabited islet of the Senkaku Islands, administratively part of Tonoshiro Senkaku in Ishigaki City, Okinawa. Lying just northeast of Kubajima, it is so small that it can look like a large offshore rock rather than an island. No one has ever settled here, and it sits alone in the open waters of the East China Sea. It is not a place to visit but rather one of Japan's farthest, little-known islets.

Highlights

• ●A lone, rock-like island silhouette just northeast of Kubajima
• ●An untouched, uninhabited islet in the open East China Sea
• ●One of four satellite islets around Kubajima named by Japan
• ●A sense of Japan's remotest edge, traceable on charts and maps

History

Hokutokojima has long appeared on nautical charts as one of the satellite islets ringing the northern side of Kubajima. When the Japanese government assigned names to the small islands around Kubajima, this one was called Hokutokojima ('northeast small island') for its position. It has remained uninhabited throughout its recorded history, with no development or settlement, keeping its natural rocky character intact.

Map

25.9283, 123.6833 · Wikidata

Suggested itinerary

1. 1On Ishigaki, read up on the geography and history of the Senkaku Islands
2. 2Locate Kubajima and Hokutokojima together on a chart or map
3. 3Take in the vastness of the East China Sea from the Yaeyama Islands
4. 4Check the latest official information and note the islet's overview

Did you know?

💡 The islet sits at roughly 25 degrees 55 minutes north. Being tiny, some maps treat it as a rock rather than an island. On the Chinese side it is known as Xiahuya, and it is cited as the northernmost basepoint of a territorial-sea baseline, so despite its size it functions as a maritime marker.

Nearby spots