Yokohama Citizen Forest
system has several concentration areas. Niiharu area and Jike Town are two
major areas in the northwest of the city. In the west of the city we have
another focus spot around Seya High School 瀬谷高校 and
Saint Marianna Hospital 聖マリアンナ医大横浜西部病院. Oiwake 追分 and Yasashi 矢指 Citizen
Forests are part of this complex. They stand side-by-side.
To go to these Forests, reaching to the southern
part of Oiwake Forest would be the easiest. (Oh, by the way, none of them has
parking space.) If you plan to hike for a day in this part of Yokohama, you can
first go to Imajuku Citizen Forest 今宿市民の森,
cover Oiwake and Yasashi Forests, then finish with Seya Forest. (The map
covering Oiwake, Yasashi and Seya is here.) For this plan, from the northeast
exit of the Imajuku Forest go to Sasanodai Elementary School 笹野台小学校, and find the way in the residential area to the Old
Nakahara Street 旧中原街道 that is a ridgeway whose northern slope contains
Oiwake Forest. For visiting Oiwake Forest without going to Imajuku Forest, the
easiest route could start from Mitsukyo Station 三ツ境駅 of
Sotetsu Line 相鉄線. Leave the station from the
North Exit (opposite side of the exit to Koyokan Inn 光陽館), and proceed almost exactly to the north. After
20 or so minutes of walk, you bump into the Old Nakahara Street. Along the Old Nakahara
Street, there are only 2 entrances for the Forest. The way nearer to Imajuku
Forest is standard trekking road, called Hiyama Michi 桧山みち, for pedestrians only. Another entrance is capable
for small cars to go in. As it is, the road from western entrance is easier to
walk.
 |
| Sign
post for Old Nakahara Street |
 |
Western
entrance to Oiwake Forest
from Mitsukyo Station |
 |
| Along
Hiyama Michi |
The wider
road is for landlords of Oiwake and Yasashi Forests to take care of the forests
and their field. These two forests contain the sources of Yasashi River 矢指川. The river is a tributary of Katabira River 帷子川, one of the 3 main rivers running in the City of
Yokohama. So the area acts as a natural water reservoir for the health of the city’s
environment. A narrow field expands between Oiwake and Yasashi Forests, i.e.,
Yato 谷戸, and the landlords and volunteers organically plant
there flowers in addition to agricultural products, for anybody visiting the
Forests to enjoy. In every late March, they have a party for watching canola
painting the entire Yato bright yellow. After this ritual, they make a plan for
the design of flower beds from year to year. This year, from the north to the
south of Yato, we expect to enjoy the flowers of Dahlia, Buckwheat, Sunflower,
Alfalfa/Cosmos, Salvia, and Zinnia. As of early July 2015, none has yet
flowered, but all the leaves looked healthy so that they will be gorgeous from
early August.
 |
| Waiting
for the flowers to come … |
 |
The
promenade along Yato has
lots of bushy flowering plants.
Early July was the
time for bushclovers. |
 |
| Snapdragons
… might be wild. |
 |
| The
signboard notifying the planting plan. |
When we come from Mitsukyo
Station, after encountering the southern tip of Yato, we’ll see a flyover of
the New Nakahara Street, which is an industrial 4-lane road with lots of cars.
Walking beneath the overpass, we encounter a spread of the Yato and the Forests.
On the left is Oiwake Forest, and on the right is Yasashi Forest. 100 m or so
from the flyover, there is a sign post saying “Yasashi Forest, this way.” If
you look right of this sign, there are very narrow steps going into the Yato
flower field. Simply entering into this way, crossing the flower field, and we
find the entrance to Yasashi Forest.
 |
This
signpost (on the left of this photo)
could be easy to be dismissed, |
 |
| and
this very narrow steps, ditto. |
 |
| Ahead
is the entrance to Yasashi Forest. |
YasashiForest became a part of Yokohama Citizen Forest in 1991. In the 3 Citizen
Forest Complex of this area, this is the smallest; 5.1 ha with 1 k trekking
road. Toilet wise, this one has the best and large facility among 3; it is
taken care of by the local girl-scout troop very strictly. I recommend you to
finish whatever you need to do with toilet here before proceeding to the other
2 forests. Inside, hiking roads for Yasashi Forests are wide and soft so that
it is easy to walk. The center of the forest is called Sunshine Open Space 太陽の広場. Sure enough, it is a small open space with lots
of sunshine with picnic benches (and toilet is about 30 m above from there).
The impression of Yasashi Forest is something of a place well-taken care of,
and relaxing.
 |
| Toilet |
 |
| Sunshine
Open Space |
 |
| The
forest allows lots of sunshine inside. |
 |
After
the rain, lots of such mole/ant hills.
What are they? |
 |
This
is the biggest Indian Strawberry bush
I’ve ever seen. |
Returning
to the point where we come to Yasashi Forest (actually this is the only way to
move between 2 forests without going into the residential area), the left is
Oiwake Forest, the largest of the 3 Citizen Forest of the area, with about 30
ha and 3.4 k of trekking road (; it includes the forest we have passed from
Mitsukyo Station). It became Citizen Forest 3 years later than Yasashi Forest,
in1994. 100 m from the entryway to Yasashi Forest on the left, it also has
toilets with potable water, but they are smaller. From this toilet point in to
the forest, there is an area called Oiwake Open Space 追分ひろば with
picnic benches. Though, it seems to me, the area is really the source of Yasashi
River so that right beneath a picnic benche there is a small spring where waters
coming out, continuously (and hence, unusable for picnic). If we go along the
Yato field more, for about 200 m or so, after passing a rustic café Flower
Field お花ばたけ, there is a small pond called Dragonfly Pond トンボ池. Water is everywhere along this valley side. So, I
find so many colonies of pollia japonica that love wet soil and have pretty
flowers early July. Dragonflies are hovering above our head. Shiny tails of
eumeces japonicas greet me many times …
 |
| Oiwake
Open Space with picnic benches |
 |
| Water,
water … |
 |
| Pollia
Japonica |
The
allowed hiking roads for Oiwake Forest are mostly wide, and even bikes are
passable. It is because basically they are the community roads for generations.
So, they have names of ancient sounding … Yatsuduka 八ッ塚, Oiwake 追分,
Yasashi 矢指, Tsukamatsu 塚松, and Hiyama 桧山. I
imagined the scenery of 200 years ago when people were busy coming and going
along these ways, sometimes with cows or horses, carrying their products and
other things for their daily life. The roads are still well-maintained, and
not-compacted so that it is easy to walk. I have met several joggers when I’ve
been there. No wonder.
 |
Beyond
the bushes are cabbage patches;
one of the main agricultural products of
Yokohama. |
West
side of Oiwake Forest runs a rather nice road, called Nosakai Road 野境道路 that is secretly loved by locals for a relaxed
driving. When you enter here from the north from National Route 16, the left is
Oiwake Forest (sadly, this part does not have allowed hiking way for us). The
forest on the right is one of the most prestigious golf courses in Japan,
Hodogaya Country Club 程ヶ谷カントリークラブ where
for being a member you must have a corner office at one of the TOPIX 100
companies. Sure enough, the area is very serene, and hence wonderful to drive. …
I personally prefer walking in the forest to going along the drive way for a fenced
golf course so that I recommend the exit from Oiwake Forest at the traffic
light named Entrance to Seya High School 瀬谷高校入口, next
to Saint Marianna Hospital. Beyond is Seya Forest 瀬谷市民の森 which
is an interesting forest in its own right. I’ll write about it next week. J
 |
| Beyond
is the corner office. |
If you find a problem in the Park, please make a
contact with
Office for the Park Greeneries in the North 北部公園緑地事務所
Yokohama Municipal Government Creative
Environment Policy Bureau 横浜市環境創造局
Phone: 045-311-2016 (I guess in Japanese only)
FAX: 045-316-8420 (I hope there is somebody who
can read English …)
No comments:
Post a Comment