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Ogasawara NP, Tokyo
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Nakayama Pass looks both ways: north over Kominato and Kopepe beaches, south toward Buta Beach and Minamijima. Though the shores are close, the sea can look strikingly different on either side of the ridge.
The beach visible below named Kopepe remembers a real person: Tokyo’s park office says someone from the Gilbert Islands, now Kiribati, once lived there. A Pacific Islander’s name remains on this Chichijima shoreline.
A rare endemic hides among Nakayama’s rocks: terihanishikiso has smooth, hairless stems and leaves, unlike its common hairy-stemmed relative. Known from only a few sites on Chichijima and Anijima, it is listed as Endangered in Japan.
Beside the trail stands a small Japanese Army marker for the Father Island Fortress zone. Its inscription dates it January 10, 1941—a quiet military trace on a ridge now known for its open sea views.
The red soil on the approach from Kopepe isn’t paint: Tokyo’s park guide attributes its color to iron and aluminum oxidizing in the ground. Nakayama Pass also lies on Chichijima’s longest trail, a 5.5-km route to John Beach.
