, is one of the tokara islands, a sub-group of the satsunan islands belonging to kagoshima prefecture, japan. the island, 7.42 km² in area, has a population of 59 persons. the island can only be reached by boat as it has no airport, there is a ferry service twice per week to the city of kagoshima on the mainland. travel time is about 11 hours. the islanders are dependent mainly on fishing and seasonal tourism.