Goto Islands

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The Goto Islands (五島列島 Gotō rettō, literally: "five islands island chain") are Japanese islands in the East China Sea, off the western coast of Kyūshū. The islands are a part of Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Products
4 Transportation
5 References
6 External link

[edit] Geography

There are 140 islands in total, of which five islands are main: Fukuejima (福江島), Hisakajima (久賀島), Narushima (奈留島), Wakamatsujima (若松島), and Nakadōrijima (中通島).

The group of islands runs approximately 85 km (51 miles) end to end and its center is located at 32°45′03″N, 128°27′30″E. To the north is Tsushima Island in the Korea Strait, and to the east is Kyūshū and the rest of Nagasaki Prefecture. The island is about 100 km away from the port of Nagasaki City. Tsushima Current (a branch of the Kuroshio) passes around the islands.

The southern of the two principal islands, Fukuejima, measures 17 miles by 134 miles; the northern, Nakadōrijima, measures 23 miles by 74 miles. Some dome-shaped hills command the old castletown of Fukue. The islands are highly cultivated; deer and other game abound, and trout are plentiful in the mountain streams.

As a result of a merger in 2004, the city of Goto was established. It occupies Fukuejima, Hisakajima, Narushima, and seven other inhabited islands. The town of Shinkamigo, itself the product of a 2004 merger, occupies Nakadōrijima and Wakamatsujima.

[edit] Demographics

The majority of the inhabitants are Christians of the Catholic-derived Kakure Kirishitan sect.^[1]

[edit] Products

Marine products, such as oysters, sea urchins, are main products of the island. Natural camellia oil of Fukuejima is famous in Japan for cosmetic use.