- Gotō Islands
The nihongo|Gotō Islands|五島列島|Gotō rettō, literally: "five-island archipelago") are Japanese islands in the
East China Sea , off the western coast ofKyūshū . The islands are a part ofNagasaki Prefecture .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 coord|32|45|03|N|128|27|30|E|. To the north is
Tsushima Island in theKorea 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.Tsushima Current (a branch of theKuroshio ) passes around the islands.The southern of the two principal islands, Fukuejima, measures approximately 25 km north-to-south by 25 km east-to-west; the northern, Nakadōrijima, measures approximately 40 km north-to-south by 20 km east-to-west at its widest point. Most of Nakadorijima, however, is quite narrow, measuring less than 6 km wide for much of its length. 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 Gotō was established. It occupies Fukuejima, Hisakajima, Narushima, and seven other inhabited islands. The town of Shinkamigoto, itself the product of a 2004 merger, occupies Nakadōrijima and Wakamatsujima.Demographics
Many of the inhabitants are descended from Christians of the
Catholic -derivedKakure Kirishitan sect. [ [http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/catholic_stories/cs0003.html Kakure Kirishtan] ] The islands have numerous Catholic churches, the oldest and most famous of which is Dozaki church, built in 1868 and located about 6 km north of Fukue port.Products
Marine products, such as
oyster s,sea urchin s, are main products of the island.Natural camellia oil of Fukuejima is famous in Japan for cosmetic use.Transportation
*
Goto-Fukue Airport (FUJ/RJFE) [ [http://www.fuj.ecnet.jp/ Airport] ]Notes
External links
*ja icon [http://www1.megax.ne.jp/gotokankou/ Gotō Tourism site]
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