JapanVolcanic island
Kuchinoerabu Island
35.8 km² rising to 657 m out of the East China Sea.
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
35.8km²
Area
55km
Coastline
657m
Highest point
Mount Furudake
93
People
29°C
Warmest sea
August
508km
To the mainland
When to go to Kuchinoerabu Island
Best for the beach from June to October.
The sea is warmest in August (29 °C) and coolest in February (20 °C). Comfortable swimming (21 °C or more): from April to December.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island in Kagoshima, Japan
Kuchinoerabu Island is an volcanic island in Japan. It covers 35.8 km², with 55 km of coastline. Its highest point, Mount Furudake, rises to 657 m. About 93 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 508 km away.
Getting there
- Yakushima Airport (KUM)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 43 km in a straight lineCar hire at KUM airport (Yakushima)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- Ferries1 ferry terminals on the island
- 508 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From June to Octoberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Kuchinoerabu Island.
- 3lighthouses
- 1ferry terminals
- 2marinas
- 2named peaksMt. Furudake, Mt. Banyagamine
- 3volcanoesShindake
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 192 m above the sea. 62 % of it is below 200 m.
- 15 %0–50 m
- 48 %50–200 m
- 32 %200–500 m
- 6 %500–1,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
10 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 23 | 25 | 28 | 29 | 28 | 25 | 22 | 18 |
| Night low (°C) | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 22 | 24 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 24 | 20 | 16 |
| Sea (°C) | 21 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 24 | 25 | 28 | 29 | 28 | 26 | 24 | 22 |
| Rain (mm) | 107 | 113 | 154 | 186 | 240 | 478 | 307 | 215 | 249 | 149 | 134 | 114 |
| Wet days | 17 | 15 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 16 |
| Sun h/day | 2.3 | 3.0 | 4.2 | 4.9 | 4.8 | 3.1 | 7.0 | 7.6 | 5.9 | 5.2 | 3.7 | 2.5 |
| Wind (km/h) | 29 | 28 | 27 | 24 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 25 | 25 | 29 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +0.3 | −0.5 | +0.5 | +0.9 | +0.1 | +0.6 | −0.4 | +0.8 | +0.4 | +0.5 |
| 2021 | −0.5 | −1.5 | +0.5 | +1.6 | +0.1 | +1.2 | +0.4 | −0.4 | +0.6 | +1.3 | −0.1 | +0.8 |
| 2022 | +1.1 | +0.4 | +1.0 | +1.4 | +0.8 | +0.2 | +1.0 | +1.4 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.5 |
| 2023 | +1.5 | +1.0 | +1.2 | +1.1 | +0.1 | +1.1 | +0.4 | ±0.0 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +1.0 |
| 2024 | +1.6 | +1.6 | +1.1 | +1.0 | +1.8 | +1.0 | +1.0 | +1.8 | +1.5 | +1.5 | +1.1 | +0.9 |
| 2025 | +0.7 | −0.1 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +1.7 | +1.0 | +0.7 | +2.0 | +2.4 | +0.8 | +1.2 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Nearby
More islands nearby.
YakushimaJapan505 km²1,936 m31 km away
TanegashimaJapan445 km²282 m74 km away
Nagashima IslandJapan91 km²404 m190 km away
KyushuJapan36,782 km²1,791 m294 km away
Amami ŌshimaJapan713 km²694 m254 km away
Hashima IslandJapan0.07 km²32 m248 km away
Kikai IslandJapan57 km²211 m236 km away
TokunoshimaJapan248 km²645 m317 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q718472) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit 
lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit 
mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit 
waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.You are here
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Coming soonVisit