Tori Shima

Japan

Torishima, or Bird Island, is an uninhabited volcanic island in the Izu chain of Japan, far south of Tokyo. It is the last refuge of the short-tailed albatross — once hunted to near extinction, now recovering under protection. The island's steep volcanic slopes host the world's entire breeding population of the golden albatross. Expedition ships view the colony and the island's dramatic volcanic form from the sea, a rare sanctuary for one of the ocean's great birds.