A NICE PLACE TO BREATHE YOUR LAST BREATH

In many respects, the small Japanese island of Miyakejima is an ideal holiday destination. Only 110 miles south of Tokyo, it is a great place to get away from the hustle and bustle of urban life. The subtropical volcanic island is lush and verdant, scuba divers report swimming with dolphins and brightly colored tropical fish among stunning coral reefs, and there are excellent hiking trails to the volcano. Miyakejima is also unusually rich in flora and fauna. But there is one important thing to remember: Don’t forget to keep your gas mask at the ready! The reason is the island’s active volcano, Oyama, which has erupted six times in the past hundred years, most recently in 2000. Toxic gases from that eruption forced the island’s population to evacuate for the next five years, and high levels of sulfur dioxide in the air prevented air travel to the island until 2008. At the height of the eruption lava flowed from the summit, toxic gases rushed down the slopes, ash blanketed the landscape, and the island’s 3,600 residents fled to Tokyo. Around 2,000 have since returned to the island and to normal life, which for most of them means working in the fishing, farming, and tourism industries. But “normal life” is a relative term. The volcano continues to emit sulfur dioxide, requiring residents and tourists alike to carry a gas mask at all times. When gas levels rise to a dangerous degree, a system of sirens sounds the alarm. When that happens, failure to have a gas mask close at hand could be life-threatening.