Gotō Islands

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

Geography

There are 140 islands, including five main ones: Fukue Island (福江島, Fukue-jima), Hisaka Island (久賀島, Hisaka-jima), Naru Island (奈留島, Naru-shima), Wakamatsu Island (若松島, Wakamatsu-jima), and Nakadori Island (中通島, Nakadōri-jima).

The group of islands runs approximately 85 km (53 mi) end-to-end; its center is at 32°45′03″N 128°27′30″E / 32.75083°N 128.45833°E / 32.75083; 128.45833.

To the north is Tsushima Island in the Tsushima Strait and to the east is Kyūshū and the rest of Nagasaki Prefecture. It is about 100 km from the port of Nagasaki. The Tsushima Current (a branch of the Kuroshio) passes around the islands.

The southern of the two principal islands, Fukue, measures approximately 25 km north-to-south by 25 km east-to-west; the northern, Nakadori Island, measures approximately 40 km north-to-south by 20 km east-to-west at its widest point. Most of Nakadori Island, 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.