The State of Emergency due to COVID-19 makes Koajiro Forest 小網代の森 closed. All the entrances of the Forest are locked now … The place was inaccessible for several months since autumn 2019 due to the severe damages caused by typhoons and oak tree wilts. During this period, Kanagawa Prefecture and the major financial backer of the place, Keikyu Co., did an extensive restoration works for the forest. When it was reopened last summer, the forest had renovated roads and brand-new toilets … They are now unapproachable again. *Sigh* … Last fall, before this wave of COVID-19 came, I had a chance to visit there, and boarded on a yacht from the harbor, Seabornia Marina next to the Koajiro Forest. We did a small cruise to Zushi Marina and enjoyed the vista of forests and shorelines of Miura Peninsula 三浦半島 from Sagami Bay 相模湾. This week I report you my voyage at that time. I hesitate to say it was an “adventure” … the reason? I tell you why soon.
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| Koajiro Forest, late last November |
Kanagawa Green Trust Foundation has an annual event for the Foundation members of mini-cruise from Seabornia to Zushi Marina to observe greenery of Miura Peninsula. The seats on the yacht are strictly limited, and the event is popular. Though, thanks to COVID, it seems to me the number of applications for 2020 cruise was small. I hit bingo of the seat. It was a fine warm weekend day of November, just before winter comes. I strolled beautifully restored roads of Koajiro Forest to reach to Seabornia. Passing in front of a large black yacht with a proud logo of “ORACLE,” there was a beautiful yacht we were boarding on that day … Er, that Oracle yacht was a team member of 2017 Oracle Team USA, a person for Seabornia told me.
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| Looking Koajiro Forest from sea |
Looking the forests of Miura Peninsula from Sagami Bay, we could first notice the peninsula has so many small hills and valleys. The land looks like a crumpled paper craft colored by green (for vegetation) and sunburned brown (for beach). Mr. Kuramochi for Hayama Shiosai Museum 葉山しおさい博物館 was on board with us and explained. “Miura Peninsula was once a seabed carried from the Pacific Ocean by Philippine’s Plate. It crushed to Eurasian Plate some 90 thousand years ago. The collision pushed up the seabed and keeps pressing the mass forever. It makes this scenery we’re watching now … Many small hills and valleys. The shoved land was eroded by the sea, which makes the sealine a continuous cliff, and above is a coastal terrace. The friction between two tectonic plates pulls down the peninsula 3mm per year. But occasionally the Philippine’s Plate reaches to its limit of perseverance against pushed-down by the Eurasian Plate. The peninsula bounces back, which is a huge earthquake … In coast lines of Miura Peninsula, we can find so many traces of such violent movements of plate tectonics.”
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| Coastal
cliff and tiny valleys, aka fissures of seabed. Basically all the black pines in this area are artificially planted. |
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| Typical coastal terrace of Miura Peninsula |
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| Zushi City, seen from the sea |
Hmmmm … It was really a sunny afternoon, probably the last warm, calm day in Sagami Bay before Christmas. A tense atmosphere of COVID-19 was left on the land over there created by crushes between tectonic plates … The yacht proceeded to Zushi Marina in comfortable swings of the bay. Sea breeze was refreshing … Eventually, the explanation of Mr. Kuramochi became a soothing lullaby for me … I tell you, having a nap on a yacht is soooooooooooo good … zzzzzzzzzzzzz
The spring sea rising, and falling, rising and falling all day
春の海 ひねもすのたりのたりかな 与謝野蕪村
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| Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, peace …… |
Er, it was not spring, I admit ... By the way, from Zushi Marina to Enoshima Island 江の島 (my post on June 30, 2017), it is about 10 mile. I noticed several sports yachts, with proud logs of GB and FRA, speeding over there within our sight. Enoshima is the place where SailingCompetition will be held for the Tokyo Olympics … Were they Olympians?
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| Enoshima Island from the sea |
If you find environmental issues in Kanagawa Prefecture, please make a contact with Kanagawa Natural Environment Conservation Center 神奈川県自然環境保全センター
657 Nanasawa, Atsugi City, 243-0121
〒243－0121 厚木市七沢657
Phone: 046-248-0323
You can send an enquiry to them by clicking the bottom line of their homepage at http://www.pref.kanagawa.jp/div/1644/
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