To go down 8 Miles Road of Hakone 箱根八里, let’s start from the south shore of Lake Ashinoko 芦ノ湖. We use commuter bus service between JR/Odakyu Odawara Station 小田原駅 and Hakonemachi-ko 箱根町港 at Lake Ashinoko for “Service Z” of Izu-Hakone Bus Co. 伊豆箱根バス (; its route map is here. Hmmmmmm, the name of the route sounds like a code number for a spy movie …) Here is the time schedule. The Odawara stop is #3 post in the bus terminal of East Exit of Odawara Station. They have constant services between 6:00 to 19:00. Though, if you plan to hike 8 Miles Road, I strongly recommend depart the Station between 8:00 and 10:00. After about an hour bus ride, we can get off the bus at Sekisho-ato 箱根関所跡 stop, or at one stop before the terminal, called Onshi-koen Mae 恩賜公園.
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| Service
Z at Number 3 Post for Odawara Station bus terminal. At Odawara Terminal for this route, they have conductor service. Reasonable approach as this is tourists-heavy route. |
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| Walking
the path along Route 1 from the bus stop, which brings us to |
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| The main
street of the 17th century. Welcome to the 8 Miles Road of Hakone! |
In general, the road Tokugawa Shogunate 徳川幕府 built between Osaka and Edo (Tokyo), aka Tokaido 東海道, was lined with pines. Only 8 Miles Road of Hakone, that is between Hakone Yumoto 箱根湯本 and Hakone-juku Station 箱根宿 (the inn town located on the other side of Hakone Checking Point 箱根関所), was designed with cedars. The builder who oversaw this part of Tokaido was Matsudaira Masatsuna 松平正綱, who governed in the early 17th century Kamakura 鎌倉 and the neighboring area of present-day Yokohama. In my post on January 6th, 2017, I posted I was surprised to know Yokohama is THE major supplier of coniferous seedlings in Japan. The historical reason was from Matsudaira Masatsuna, the feudal lord for that part of Yokohama. He was a sort of Minister of Finance at the beginning of Tokugawa Shogunate under Tokugawa Ieyasu 徳川家康 (1543-1616). In 1616, Lord Matsudaira began constructing the 8 Miles Road of Hakone lined with cedars from his territory in Yokohama. The precincts of ancient Hakone Shrine 箱根神社 stood along the planned 8 Miles Road, and Japanese approaches to a sacred place were often lined with fragrant conifers … Have you got the reason why Masatsuna planted lots of cedars here? He and the Shogun must have been satisfied with their model for an important road. Their idea later became the tree avenue of Nikko 日光. In 1625, Masatsuna started to donate cedar seedlings to decorate the main approach to Nikko Toshogu 日光東照宮, the shrine announcing his late boss, Ieyasu, was a Shintoism deity. It was the beginning of the avenue listed in the Guinness World Record as the longest tree-lined street. Unfortunately, I must report their idea was splendid only for the first couple of centuries.
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| The national avenue from the 17th century |
As of 2000, there remain 412 planted cedars in 500m of 8 Miles Road along the shore of Lake Ashinoko. Only 30% of them are healthy enough to stand in coming 2100. It would be because of NOx from traffic heavy Route 1 next to the walkway, or lots of tourists stamping the ground around the trees. Though, there could be additional reasons. When Hakone Town researched the stumps of died cedars along the Road (; their study was made public in 2000), the oldest was 350 years old. Say, if samurai of the 17th century planted the seedlings of 10 years’ old, the afforestation would be around 1660, about 50 years later than the officially written record. i.e. The first generation of Yokohama’s cedars planted in 1616 may not have survived. The botanists noticed the growth of cedars in the area cannot be described “good.” The location is about ASL 723m at the bottom of a north-northeast facing slope. Although the place is humid enough, which cedars love, the microclimate there may not be so kind. During these 400 years, there are records for at least 3 occasions of mass-death of Cryptomeria japonica along the 8 Miles Road. Moreover, in 1904 the planting design was intentionally destructed. When in the early 20th century the authority tried to modernize Tokaido for Route 1 between Hakone-yumoto and the south shore of Lake Ashinoko, they did not have enough money. So, mandarins cut 1024 of “marketable” cedars and pines along the route and widen the path for cars. Later around 1944, when Japan engaged in total wars, Imperial Navy ordered to cut more cedars to manufacture ships (; that’s an episode indicating the desperation of Japanese military). The Town Mayor of Hakone resisted the order as much as he could. Some trees were cut, and Japan got two nukes before the entire street was deforested in Hakone. So the trees we meet now in the 8 Miles Road at Lake Ashinoko are true survivors. But their health is in a critical situation.
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| We can
enjoy the vista of Lake Ashinoko, Mt. Fuji, and a lot of car traffic from the 8 Miles Road. |
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| The
trees must be at least 200 years or more old. Though, certainly they look slender, just like younger cedars in Yadoriki Water Source Forest where we know they were planted around 1910. |
In order to preserve the scenery for the 22nd and beyond centuries, Hakone Town and Kanagawa Prefecture are now seriously engaging in the rejuvenation project for the tree-lined path. They are nurturing seedlings from the healthiest trees of the 8 Miles Road in order to replant the dying specimen. The undergrowth of walkway can be easily dominated by Japanese Laurel (Aucuba japonica) and Neolitsea sericea both of which dominate the wild part of Hakone’s forests. Their evergreen broadleaves have robust cuticle layer that can reflect sunshine or block the light to reach to the floor. It makes the biodiversity and the soil of the path poor. Although the place is in the National Park, the Town plans to cut some of these second layer trees to create more diversified ecosystem below centuries’ old cedars. Come to think of it, the boulevard of Nikko is also confronting the dying of old cedars. Both places are the result of road construction some 400 years ago. Their hardship in the 21st century may be due to modern problems of pollution and global warming, but …
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| Neolitsea
sericea is
robust and fecund. They bear lots of berries for birds to eat and spread the tree’s offspring along the historical road. They would eventually overwhelm the artificially planted cedars. |
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| Parasenecio
farfarifolius var. bulbifer, which is Japanese endemic herbaceous. It normally thrives near humid stream in deep mountain under thick growth. We can find it right next to busy Route 1 in a leisurely strolling here, which is VERY Hakone. |
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| Beautiful
autumn color of Lindera praecox under the cedars. I hope they won’t cut it … |
It’s really difficult to be sure how our interaction with the nature turns out in the LONG run. Er … for a short life of humans it can be said “we’re all dead.” But the other living things, like conifers, can survive more than a millennium. Maybe, dealing with them in the time scale of homo sapience is not wise ... Well, yeah, Keynes himself may not have been so cynical to say that even for human-only world. What’s “Long run” in this COVID world now? Anyway, please proceed the flat esplanade with cedars, returning to Route 1 to pass the First Torii 一の鳥居 of Hakone Shrine, and turn right at Motohakone 元箱根 Traffic light. Soon, we dive ourselves in the hiking course. Please stay tuned for the next week. 😉
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| The
old road soon meets with Route 1. Could you see a big red Torii, First Torii of Hakone Shrine? The flat headed mountain behind Torii is Mt. Komagatke 駒ケ岳 (ASL 1356). |
164 Motohakone, Hakone-machi, Ashigarashimo-gun, Kanagawa 250-0522
Phone: +81-460-84-9981
FAX: +81-460-84-5721
Email: hakone-vc@kanagawa.email.ne.jp
http://hakonevc.sunnyday.jp/shizenjyouhou/gazou/englishindex.html
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