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Ogasawara NP, Tokyo
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Chuo’s summit still holds the pedestal of its wartime Navy radar. An engineer recalled hauling its 3-ton foundation and transmitter 4 km uphill by hand winch; the crew finished in 25 days, beating the 35-day estimate.
The summit lookout opens a 360° view over Chichijima. On clear days, you can pick out both the Hahajima Islands and the distant Mukojima Islands—a remarkable sweep across the Ogasawara chain.
Though often called Chichijima’s highest mountain, named Mount Chuo is 319 m. A Geological Survey of Japan map places the island’s 326 m highest point on an unnamed peak just southeast.
The red-headed wood pigeon, found only in Ogasawara, lives in forest around Chuo. Sections of the trail may close during its roughly November–April nesting season, with dates varying by year.
On Chuo’s East-daira slopes, low, dry scrub replaces the tall-forest image many people expect. Endemic plants cope with thin soil and sea winds by staying short and growing small, thick leaves.
