Island Recharging Station

While many drivers won’t consider use of electric cars due to their comparatively short range, this does not present a great problem when driving on small islands. On the Island of Yakushima — registered as a world heritage site — electric cars are thriving. While just 130 kilometers in circumference, the island boasts 18 battery charging stations, and in order to promote adoption of electric vehicles nearly all of them can be utilized free of charge. In the case of an M-type i-MiEV electric car produced by Mitsubishi Motor Co., for example, the quick charger in the photo can replenish 80% of the battery charge in just 15 minutes, enabling the car to be driven approximately 100 kilometers. It appears that other small islands that are tourist destinations are also engaged in similar experiments at adopting electric vehicles.