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/

Once there was a lake … Hakone Sengokubara, Part 1 箱根仙石原1

Hakone 箱根, one of the most popular National Parks in Japan, has two National Natural Treasures. One is Giant Salamander (Andrias japonicus). It is a Special National Natural Treasure designated in 1952 and lives only in Hakone-en Aquarium. Another is Sengokubara Wetland 仙石原, designated in 1934. Sengokubara is a very famous tourist destination. Especially in autumn, it turns a golden field of pampas grass whose fluffy tufts elegantly swings with chilly winds. To admire it, visitors can walk along Prefectural Road #75, a busy commuter road connecting resort communities spreading around Mt. Hakone. It’s rather difficult to experience ‘wetland’ through Road 75. As the place is National Natural Treasure, real wetland part of Sengokubara is off-limits for tourists. Early October this year, I had a chance to enter wetland of Sengokubara chaperoned by Mr. Teruo Katsuyama 勝山輝男, the Researcher Emeritus for Kanagawa PrefecturalMuseum of Natural History, and the Chairperson for Flora Kanagawa Association. It was a wonderful adventure!

Having said that, we can enjoy wild flowers
 along Road #75 wherever it runs.
 Hey, we’re in National Park!

First, the history of Sengokubara Wetland. The place is spreading on the northeast slope of Mt. Daigatake 台ヶ岳. To its north, there is Hayakawa River 早川 that pours into Sagami Bay 相模湾. The wetland was once a large lake created by active volcanic activity of Hakone. It collected water from rains on the surrounding mountains. Sediments were carried by water flow from the higher altitude and gradually deposited at the bottom of the lake. By roughly 5000 years ago, the former lake became Lake Ashinoko 芦ノ湖, wetlands and a river. River is Hayakawa, and Sengokubara was one of the marshes dotted the zone between Lake Ashinoko and Sengokubara area. During the first half of the 20th century, the entire Hakone was for the craze of resort development. Many marshes were reclaimed to build nice vacation houses. The present-day Sengokubara happened to be difficult to build anything, including rice paddies. But it had lots of Japanese Water Iris (Iris ensata). The Sengokubara village chief in 1933, Mr. Kobayashi, thought it would be nice to make it National Nature Treasure for conservation and tourism economy. As Hakone was already famous for rich Tokyoites, he did not have difficulty to find Dr. Miyoshi Manabu 三好学 who spent his summer in Sengokuhara. Dr. Miyoshi was a person in 1919 to establish the Law of Preservation of Historic Sites and Natural Monuments and an expert for Iris. Dr. Miyoshi pushed Sengokubara to the government for a National Natural Monument. At the beginning only 0.7ha of Sengokubara was designated as a Treasure. Later after 1945, farmers who came back from Manchuria were given the surrounding wetlands by the government to try rice cultivation. They all failed and chose to engage in tourism industry instead. The wetland was returned to the national and regional authorities. The space around the original 0.7ha becomes prefectural or otherwise public land and gradually annexed to the Natural Monument.

In October, all irises were gone to seeds.

So, the preset-day beautiful field of pampas grass is a patchwork of different kinds of public lands. Anyway, people try to maintain and invigorate the place as a meaningful size of ecosystem as a wetland. Recently, Kanagawa Prefecture acquired surrounding forest of Sengokubara that shields the wetland from urbanization by resort development. Next to the forest is Hakone Botanical Garden of Wetlands 箱根湿生花園 that is owned by Hakone Town. People take care of Garden’s wetland to be a model for restoration of the entire Sengokubara Wetland. We entered the restricted part of Sengokubara from the Botanical Garden. It is a really nice garden worthy of your visit even if only for the area open to the public. The place has well-tended native and otherwise vegetations for temperate mountainous area. The majority of the road inside the Garden is barrier-free so that wheelchair users are able to experience nature of National Treasure. If you have a chance to visit Hakone, please check the place.

The entrance to Botanical Garden

Immediately after the gate,
there is this large map and exhibit what to look inside.

This is one of the ponds inside the Garden.
The town maintains the waterflow to keep this place as a pond.
More to this, next week.

Wood decks are provided for visitors
 to stroll the restored wetlands in the Garden.

Wild-looking flowers some of which were actually brought in.
More to it, again next week.

Strolling paths are wide and barrier-free.

The access to Botanical Garden is either by car from Gotemba 御殿場 IC of Tomei Expressway, or by bus from Shinjuku (with Odakyu Hakone Expressway Bus 小田急高速バス) or from Odawara (with Hakone-tozan Bus 箱根登山バス, commuter bus services to Kojiri/Togendai 湖尻/桃源台 Terminal; time-table here). You get off your bus at Sengoku An’naijo-mae Stop 仙谷案内所前, walk 20m or so to the north and turn left at the corner of Lalique Museum. From there its one way stroll of less than 10 minutes to the entrance of Botanical Garden. Next week, I tell you my experience at the wetland itself. Please stay tuned. 😉

The Garden has an ample parking space.

 

Hayakawa River near Sengoku An’naijo-mae Stop

The way from Lalique Museum to the Garden is like this.

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

https://hakone-shisseikaen.com/