Hiking in deep Tanzawa along the pavement; Mikurube Forestry Road, Part 1 三廻部林道 1

Abraxas miranda

Japanese mountainous areas have two kinds of roads. One is the ordinary route as in towns and cities for standard travelers of day-to-day activities, like shopping, daily commuting for business/school, having fun, etc. Another is so-called forestry road. They are mainly for the necessities of business of forestry. They run windingly in deep mountains. Normally they do not have bus stop. Their design is for foresters in pickup trucks. It does not care for family cars to run smoothly. They may be paved but once some disturbance, like landslides, happens, municipalities often are not in a hurry to repair. Encountering gravel rocks in a twisted forestry road is common. Sometimes, the access to that road is limited for permit holders, such as the forestry road in Yadoriki Water Source Forest やどりき水源林. The good thing for such forestry road is, as this is a very specialized facility, using it we can hike quiet mountain areas without encountering much crowd. Yeah, cars can come, maybe just once during your day walk. It’s not much. As this is a paved way, the novices of hiking can try mountain areas with relative ease. Today, I introduce you one such road in Yadoriki Community 寄. That’s Mikurube Forestry Road 三廻部林道.

Pretty Deutzia scabra,
May 2021 in Mikurube Forestry Road

Mikurube Forestry Road connects Omote Tanzawa Citizen Forest 表丹沢県民の森 (; my post on November 10th and 17th, 2017) and Yadoriki Community. Actually, Mikurube Forestry Road crosses the route for climbing Mt. Nabewari 鍋割山 (ASL 1272.4m). You may encounter aficionados to/from Mt. Nabewari using Mikurube Road, instead of the standard route, to the bus stop. Hikers often use one’s own car for the Citizen Forest and Mt. Nabewari, parking it near the Citizen Forest. Though the Prefecture has the right to tow cars without permission to enter this far. In the end the road is for foresters, you remember? Both at Omote Tanzawa Citizen Forest side and at Yadoriki side, the entrance to Mikurube Forestry Road has a locked gate. Only permission holding cars/bikes can run here. In contrast, the gate is not for pedestrians. We can pass through the points just by crossing the gate from the gap. Unless there is a forester doing his/her business along Mikurube Forestry Road, it’s a relaxing hiking route in deep Omote Tanzawa. Bonus: unlike the forestry roads running from, say, Okura Bus Stop 大倉 in Hadano City 秦野市, not many people use this route. You can enjoy your quiet one-day hike in Mikurube Road.

Tricyrtis hirta near the gate for Citizen Forest side

The name “Mikurube” is very rare in Japanese. This site says the naming was due to a rather strange landlord of the area who insisted to call his Buddhist temple Mikurube in the 15th century. In short, no one knows why the place is called like this. As the area is a part of Tanzawa Mountains 丹沢, we Kanagawa Forest Instructors suspect there could be a secret meaning from Shugendoh 修験道, Japanese mountain ascetism. From the entrance of Citizen Forest side to Mikurube Pass 三廻部峠, which is the half of Mikurube Forestry Road, the road runs in Mikurube Township. From Mikurube Pass to another gate near Miroku Camp Field ミロクキャンプ場, the route goes through Yadoriki Township. For both townships, no human settlement is there along Mikurube Forestry Road.

Around Mikurube Pass, we can find
Viburnum plicatum var. tomentosum here and there.
 It has cute white flowers just for a week
 in late May to early June.

The entire length of the road is about 6.6km, and the difference in elevation is about 250m, not much in any case. Though from the nearest bus stops to both entrances, it’s about 15-45 minutes’ walk. I guess the total mileage for hiking would be about 12km. If you enter the Road from the Citizen Forest side, please take community bus service named “Kami-chan Goh, Mikurube Line 上ちゃん号 みくるべ線” (timetable here) from Odakyu Shibusawa Station 渋沢駅. Please get off the bus at “The Entrance to Omote-Tanzawa Citizen Forest” Stop 表丹沢県民の森入口, and walk for approx. 45 min to the entrance. Er … this service is weekdays only. For weekends, we have to use Okura Bus Terminal 大倉ターミナル (; timetable from Shibusawa Station is here) and take the route to the Citizen Forest I reported in my posts in 2017. You see how remote the place is.

Also near the gate of Citizen Forest side,
Aster ageratoides ssp. Leiophyllus.
Although the road is paved,
we can find many wildflowers along Mikurube Forestry Road.

Another side, the entrance near the Miroku Camp Field is about 15-20 minutes’ walk from Yadoriki Bus Terminal of Fujikyu Bus from Shin-Matsuda Station 新松田駅 (timetable here). Also, Miroku Camp Field has parking spaces for campers. It is a secretly VERY popular camping site with full-facility. Especially from the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic, the proprietor allows only 10 families a day for camping … ideal to have a break from pandemic, isn’t it? If you’re lucky enough able to reserve a camping space at Miroku Camp Field with your kids, it one of the options for your holiday menu enjoying one day hike back and forth along Mikurube Forestry Road. Next week, I’ll tell you how actually the Mikurube Forestry Road was this year. Please stay tuned!

Cute flowers of Alangium platanifolium var. trilobum,
found along Mikurube Road, early summer, 2021.

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

Waiting for the winter to come: Cirsium microspicatum in Yadoriki Water Source Forest

I don’t know why, but this fall in Yadoriki Water Source Forest やどりき水源林, Cirsium microspicatum suddenly made colonies here and there. According to this HP of National Museum of Nature and Science, this species is Japanese endemic, or to be exact, indigenous to mountains for the middle area of Honshu Island. They can make a large cluster, the HP says. I found it interesting. It’s very vigorous but its rangeland is somehow limited … Sounds like people from an archipelago off the east coast of Euransian Continent, doesn’t it?

Wow. Congested.

Cirsium microspicatum is strong enough to have energetic vessels that can conduct ground water even the above-ground part is withered in winter. When the outer air temperature drops to below zero, the underground can be much warmer for this thistle’s roots continuing to drink water. When the vessels are not broken, such water goes above ground in the wilted body of Cirsium microspicatum. First, it oozes out from the surface of the stems. The freezing air above ground makes H2O freeze, and so the vessels of the plant would be burst with ice. As long as the root carries water to the above, the ice in the broken stem gets larger. It continues until the underground is frozen as well. People call such ice “winter flower” or “ice needles” of Cirsium microspicatum.

Imagining how winter flowers will come out here …

I guess we can find lots of such winter flowers this year in Yadoriki Water Source Forest. We must go there in early morning ... I’m looking forward to meeting them soon. 😀

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/

Mom’s Garden

At the end of summer, my mom broke her thigh bone. She had an operation and now staying a rehabilitation hospital. She’s of great age, and med-doc said it was of osteoporosis. Our family hope she’ll come home before Christmas and tending her precious garden as much as possible, if not as before … Meanwhile, her garden has not had regular care for a couple of months. One day, suddenly, I noticed the change.

I don’t know why, but many many many seedlings of bush clover (Lespedeza bicolor) sprouted all over. At first, I had a sort of “OK, we neglected the care here …” kind of detached attitude. But soon I realized if we left it as such mom would be upset when she comes home. So, these days I pull the bush clovers out when I can find time … and the task is still going on. Not only Japanese clover, but also many other wild vegetation is eyeing for the pole position for sunshine. American Gamochaeta pensylvanica (Pennsylvania everlasting) and sedges begun spreading their root firmly. (Whoops, gosh, gosh, gosh …) Creeping woodsorrels are still flowering even in November in order to spread their seed widely during winter. (Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing!)

In contrast those pretty flowers from garden centers in Yokohama started to be buried under the vigorous leaves of wild comers. I’m a sort of amazed to witness vital force of undomesticated ones. They don’t miss well-fertilized ground that has been unattended for some time. And good-looking varieties are no match for these worriers … Er, OK. I have to make the place presentable to mom when she returns in few weeks’ time. Tasks are waiting!

If you find a problem in the greenery of north-half of Yokohama, 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
FAX: 045-316-8420

Lord, are you going to wash my feet? Hakone Sengokubara, Japanese Natural National Treasure 箱根仙石原

I won’t tell you exactly where the entrance to off-limits part of Sengokubara 仙石原 is. In the end, it’s to a restricted National Treasure. Anyway, we went to the controlled wetland from Hakone Botanical Garden of Wetlands 箱根湿生花園, donning our rubber boots. The entry point had a small stream coming from the National Treasure area pouring to the ponds of Botanical Garden. Mr. Katsuyama said, “Please wash your boots here before moving into the protected area.” So far people have not found a Sengokubara-only endemic species. Though, the place has many endangered Japanese indigenous creatures. On the other hand, researchers found invasive species in the restricted area. “You see? Birds and animals may bring non-endemic types. Winds can carry seeds of Taraxacum officinale. We cannot control such things completely. At least we homo sapience can be careful not contributing to such disturbance for our wetland.” Mr. Katsuyama said. Indeed. Sengokubara is not so special as a Japanese wetland, but it is the only marshland in Kanagawa Prefecture. Maybe it would be difficult for Sengokubara to be a Ramsar site. But if we can preserve the swamp surrounded by resort facilities, it would tell something for cohabitation of nature and us, wouldn’t it?

The stream is man-made to control the water in the area.

So, we all washed our boots, then started to walk. For a while we walked along the stream that runs through forest of large Japanese Alder (Alunus Japonica). They are pioneer species for wetland naturally transiting to more dry and fertile land. The outer layer of National Treasure is at the final stage for the lifecycle of marshland. Even though, the forest floor is still swampy. The rim of this forest is next to a busy commuter road and the other side of the road is resort housing areas … It’s like alders protecting the way to the least disturbed fairly land of natural wetland. Soon, we encounter the field of Chinese silver grass (Miscanthus sinensis) and Common reed (Phragmites australis). The scenery became suddenly bright. Blue sky is high above us, but we are surrounded very high greensward.

Alders in Sengokubara

We’ve found Japanese gentians
(Gentiana Scabra Bunge var. buergeri (Miq.) Maxim)
along the stream.

Here we are!

I simply wondered how Mr. Katsuyama could find the way where our sight is completely blocked by well-grown grasses. Interestingly, the road had many small ups and downs. “It’s the remnants of rice paddies cultivated some 80 years ago.” Mr. Katsuyama said. Water from Mt. Daigatake 台ヶ岳 manages to pass through such artificial structure. Unless we’re careful, a sudden water hole can appear unexpectedly on our way. “Please be careful.” Silver grass and Common reed looked like competing each other. For the transition of wetland, the field of silver grass is one step before the forest of alders. In Sengokubara the vegetation hesitates to dominate the place. Actually, people intervene to stop the wetland changing to the dry land. Volunteers from Hakone Town set controlled fire every early spring on grasses and reeds. Those tall vegetations turns ash to be nutrients for the wetland, and more flora for marshland can receive sunshine in spring. At the same time, Silver grass and Common reed cannot establish strong holds for the burned area. The swamp stops its transition to dryland. The section that received the recent fire has shorter grasses and reeds. We could identify irises with seed pods. They could find sunshine to flower!

Sometimes, our way had rudimentary wood “decks.”

Researchers enter this area in order to study
fauna, flora, and underground water.
This is the point they measure the water level.

Grass and reed are competing each other.

Thistles in Sengokubara are Cirsium sieboldii.

Mr. Katsuyama said if we could combine fire and weeding, the management of wetland would be better. But for these 2 years COVID prevented volunteers from gathering to do the task. Not only that. “You see? Weeding always have problem of how-to carry out the cleared grass. If we left the cut reeds on the ground, it’s the same as naturally dead vegetation decaying on the ground and drying the marsh. We really have to take out the cut grass after weeding. We could weed only very small area in Sengokubara where this garbage collection problem is solved. How to do it in the entire Sengokubara where the trekking passes are limited?”

Could you see the difference in grass height
between the front and the back?
The lower part was burnt 2 years ago.

Hmmmmm. the sky was blue, the wind was sweet in early October. The place was only for us at that time. We took deep breath that was often difficult when places were congested and COVID-19 was just around the corner … The feeling of liberation was enormous in Sengokubara. To enjoy such things more, we have to solve the problem to protect the environment. Difficult … I personally recited the Bible. Water stream is Jesus, and we were just mere mortals …

John 13: 5 

After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

Hakone Botanical Garden of Wetlands
817 Sengokubara, Hakone Town, Kanagawa, 250-0631
Phone: 0460-84-7293 

https://hakone-shisseikaen.com/