Тыныш мұхитындағы Микура-дзима аралының әкімшілік бірлігі мен табиғаты

the administrative unit
Volcanic island in the Pacific ocean

Mikura jima (御蔵島) is a volcanic Japanese island in the Pacific Ocean. The island is administered by Tōkyō Metropolis and is located approximately south of Tokyo and south southeast of Miyake shima. It is one of the Izu Seven Islands group of the seven northern islands of the Izu archipelago. Mikurashima is administratively part of Mikurashima Village under Miyake Subprefecture of Tokyo Metropolis. as of 2009, the island's population was 351. Mikura shima is also within the boundaries of the Fuji Hakone Izu National Park.

The island has apparently been inhabited for thousands of years, but existing records only extend to the Edo period. Mikura, along with the rest of the Izu Islands, was designated as a place of exile during the Tokugawa shogunate, and up to 10% of current island residents are descendants of political exiles. In 1714, an important official from the shogunate, physician Kochikuin Okuyama, arrived on the island. Okuyama was able to use his connections with the shogunate to retrieve Mikura's official seal from officials on Miyake Island, who were using it to skim profits from Mikura's exports of lumber.

Unlike the other islands in the Izu group, Mikura jima has preserved most of its old growth forest and endemic flora, such as the nioiebine orchid. The island has been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it hosts the largest breeding colony of streaked shearwaters (with some two million birds) in the world, as well as supporting populations of Japanese wood pigeons, Japanese murrelets, Pleske's grasshopper warblers, Ijima's leaf warblers and Izu thrushes. Dolphins inhabit the surrounding waters.

Mikura shima's main industry is tourism. The island is visited by about 10,000 people per year. The island's main attractions are its dolphin tours. The tours operate from March to October each year. To preserve the island's habitat, tourists are prohibited from hiking without an island guide, and must stay in one of the island's designated inns, as camping is not allowed. Dolphin watching tours during the summer months have been offered from Miyake jima. The crossing from Miyake to Mikura takes about 45 minutes by fishing vessel. There are also tours from Mikura shima. Other money makers for the island's inhabitants include exports of ashitaba, Calanthe orchids, and Japanese boxwood. Mikura jima's boxwood is highly prized in the making of top quality shogi tiles.