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| The signpost at Goshodani Entrance |
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| Admin Office |
From the point where the admin office stands, there start 4 trekking roads all reach to the east ridge way. 3 of these first go along a small stream. They meet in front of the admin office and become Goudo River 神戸川pouring to Sagami Bay 相模湾. On course starts right behind the admin office and go straight to climb up to the ridge as a short cut. 3 other routes give us a feel walking the place which was once rice puddies and/or faming field. The forest was always near human life ... Let‘s walk these roads one by one. The most popular strolling path is to the east from the admin office along Goshogawa River 御所川, or I would say ‘Stream.‘ Before start climbing to the ridge, this route proceeds beside rice puddies and farming fields on our right. Enthusiastic volunteers engage in organic cultivation here. Goshogawa River runs west of these farming ground, by the bottom of a “cliff.“ It is a geological fault line typical of Miura Peninsula 三浦半島 in which Kamakura is the west end. The strata is called Miura Group upthrusted from the bottom of the sea between 12-2.8 million years ago during the crush of Eurasian and Phillipines plates. The top soil of it is very shallow. Here, we observe roots of the trees clinging to the soil. Tough guys. The slope of the north “bank” or the stream is rapidly ascending to the other ridge above our head where rows of houses are standing. This greenery was really spared from a march of housing development …
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| The
start of the path to the east. The huts on the right are for ag-tools of volunteers. |
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| This
way goes along the farming field. During weekends and school recess, kids are running and playing here. Could you find a house on the ridge? |
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| Goshogawa
“River.” The strata of Miura Group is obvious. |
On our right beyond the organic farming, we can see a forest of evergreen broadleaved woodland with various trees.I thought this is something rare in urban areas of Kanagawa Prefecture. Take Yokohama. Almost all the forests in our city are secondary forest in which once people used the land as farmland, or planted deciduous oaks for fuel with regular cutting. From the 1960s, petrol kicked oaks out from the market, and the forest went neglected. Now 60 years later, these abandoned forests in urban Kanagawa are often monotonously dominated by large Quercus myrsinifolia whose evergreen leaves prevent sunlight from reaching the floor. The other plants cannot thrive in such places. Compared with neglected forests of this kind, Hiromachi Ryokuchi shows more variety of a jumbled mess. Somebody stops the total control of Quercus myrsinifolia over the forest. And this greenery is loved by the locals. Hmmmmmmmm.
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| The forest over there beyond the farmland. |
The road alongside the farming field leisuring turns right at the point where a large Chinese Hackberry spreads its boughs. In summer this is the place lots of visitors take refuge from a harsh sunlight. Soon, we say goodbye to the wetland, and a steep slope rapidly goes up to the ridge way. The route is supported here and there with steps. We can see a typical Miura Group geological feature on these steps. At the end of this route is Kamakurayama Iriguchi Entrance. Without proceeding to the forest gate, please turn right at the point where we can see Sagami Bay beyond the housing area. Taking a detour to the right at the #21 forest map, we can reach the biggest Cerasus jamasakura in Hiromachi Ryokuchi. As of March 20, 2025, they are still in hard buds, and hence the planned cherry blossoms party at Hiromachi Ryokuchi was cancelled. But at the end of next week, they could be in full-bloom. If you plan to visit Hiromachi Ryokuchi for cherry blossoms, this is the week to challenge your instincts 😉.
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| Chinese Hackberry |
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| The steps go up. |
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| At the fork
in the trekking road between Kamakurayama Iriguchi Entrance and to the ridge way, there is a map #8. |
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| Around
map #8, there is a point where we can observe Sagami Bay. |
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| Ridge way is like this. |
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| Cherry
tree. Will it bloom by the end of next week? |
Let‘s take another road, this time to the west from the admin office. At a small forest of Japanese lacquer tree the road is soon parted in two ways, one to the south and another to to the west. Let’s take the west road. We are entering Kotakegaya valley 小竹ヶ谷 that was once rice paddies. Now the paddies are filled up, but small stream are still running next to the trekking road. At the end of the path, there is a small marsh which is a water source. The vegtation in this valley is ferms and those who love wet and shady environment. We walk a bit from the water source area and go up steps. In no time, we stand the west corner of ridge way. In terms of steepness, this route is far milder to reach the ridge compared with the route along Goshogawa River. If you go straight, there is another gate, Murogaya Entrance 室ヶ谷入口. To reach to the gate, we have to pass slippery steps. Please be careful. Instead, if we turn left when we reach to the ridge, we enter the ridge course of Hiromachi Ryokuchi. When you find #25 forest map on your right, take detour by choosing the left path. This will bring you the best point where we can admire beautiful Mt. Fuji beyond Sagami Bay, weather permitting. It takes just 10 minutes or so strolling from the departing point for Murogaya Entrance. The viewing point is at the dead end. We must return the ridgeway. In any case, the trekking route is simple and we can find lots of housing roofs beyond the forest. Please relax.
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| The fork
next to the Japanese lacquer trees is at the end of this photo. |
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| The strolling path in Kotakegaya valley. |
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| The road goes with a small stream. |
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| Ferns thrive in the end of Kotakegaya Valley. |
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| We’ve reached the ridge. |
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| Ridge way |
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| The #24 map is there. |
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| The way to Mt. Fuji view … |
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| When I’ve been there, Mt. Fuji was backlit … |
Next week, I will introduce you another trekking route from the admin office, and the loved feature of ridge way by wild birds. Please stay tuned!
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| A cat I met in the Hiromachi Ridge Way. |
The management office which is what we’ve found at the entrance is
Kamakura Hiromachi Ryokuchi Management Office 鎌倉広町緑地管理事務所
1133 Tsu, Kamakura, 248-0032
〒 248-0032 鎌倉市津1133番地
Phone/FAX：0467-32-5112
The city office who oversees the place is
Parks and Green Spaces Section, Kamakura Cityscape Division
都市景観部みどり公園課
18-10 Onarimachi, Kamakura, 248-8686
〒248-8686鎌倉市御成町18-10 本庁舎3階
Phone: 0467-61-3491
18-10 Onarimachi, Kamakura, 248-8686
〒248-8686鎌倉市御成町18-10 本庁舎3階
Phone: 0467-61-3491
