This photo was taken from a ship that departed from Takeshiba Pier (竹芝桟橋) in Minato city (港区) of Tokyo.

Officially called Port of Tokyo Connector Bridge, it strides over Tokyo Bay connecting the Shibaura (芝浦) area with the Odaiba (お台場) reclaimed land. It is a suspension bridge of 798m, which is part of the Metropolitan Expressway network.

Tokyo is the capital of Japan. Tokyo Metropolis (東京都) has a population of 14 million in a land area of 2,194 sq km, which is 1.8 times as large as the New York City but only 1.6% of the New York State. In spite of the size, Tokyo is surprisingly diverse as will be shown shortly.

Tags:   Infra townscape transport 東京都 Japan Tokyo Toukyou sea road boat nightview architecture bridge

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Rainbow Bridge and the waterfront of Tokyo seen from a passenger ship bound for Hachijou-jima island.
The red tower in the left is Tokyo Tower (333m) that was surpassed recently by Tokyo Skytree (634m).

Tokyo occupies the innermost location of Tokyo Bay (東京湾). A castle was built in 1457 by Oota Doukan (太田道灌) on a hill overlooking the mouth of the Sumida-gawa river and its delta. It became the seat of Tokugawa Shogunate in 1603 and has been the capital of Japan since then. Edo changed its name to Tokyo (should be pronounced "Toukyou") in 1868.

Tokyo Metropolis, which is one of the 47 Japanese prefectures, does not only include the highly urbanised 23 wards or cities (東京23区) but also the western suburb and mountains of Tama (多摩), Izu Islands (伊豆諸島), and Ogasawara Islands (小笠原諸島).

Tokyo has three national parks; Chichibu Tama Kai National Park occupies a large area in Tama, Fuji Hakone Izu National Park includes all the Izu Islands, and Ogasawara National Park covers Ogasawara Islands. The three national parks occupies 36.4% of the territory of Tokyo Metropolis, which is the second highest only after Shiga prefecture among the 47 prefectures of Japan.

Ogasawara Islands are on the list of UNESCO's World Heritage. Tokyo is a rare national capital that has a World Natural Heritage Site.

Tags:   boat bridge road sea townscape 港区 東京都 Japan Tokyo Minato-ku nightview

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The ship was navigating off Miyake-jima (三宅島) island in the Pacific Ocean on the next morning after departing the Port of Tokyo.

Miyake-jima hidden under the clouds is one of the Izu Islands (伊豆諸島) that is a chain of volcanic islands that extends from Ooshima (大島) island east of Izu Peninsula to Aogashima (青ヶ島) island 250 km to the south. There are nine inhabited islands that belong to Tokyo Metropolis (東京都).

Tags:   landscape sea sky 三宅村 東京都 Japan Tokyo Miyakejima

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Mikura-jima (御蔵島) is a volcanic island located 190 km south of downtown Tokyo. Access to the island is extremely difficult as it is completely surrounded by wave-cut coastal cliffs up to 500 m in height. The highest point of the island is the peak of Oyama (御山) volcano at an altitude of 851m.

This photo was taken early in the morning on the way to Hachijou-jima.

Tags:   forest landscape sea topography 御蔵島村 東京都 Japan

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Hachijou-jima island is formed of two volcanos; Hachijou Fuji in the northwest and Mihara-yama in the southeast. Noboryuu Touge (昇龍峠), which is situated on the slope of Mihara-yama, is the highest point of the Hachijou-jima Circular Road.

Hachijou Fuji is a typical stratovolcano like Mt. Fuji. It is so named because it looks similar to the famous volcano.
Sokoji Port (底地港) as seen in the centre is the main port of the island.

Blooming shrub in front is wild hydrangea (ガクアジサイ Hydrangea macrophylla). It is native/endemic to Japan's coastal areas and Izu Islands. Its cultivars are so-called hydrangea.

Tags:   coast landscape mountain volcano 八丈町 東京都 Japan Hachijou Tokyo

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