Lilies in Niiharu 2024: Golden-rayed Lilies in Niiharu, II 新治市民の森

 

Lilies opened this year again. The scent of them was impressive as previous years in the chestnut orchard of Niiharu Citizen Forest 新治市民の森 (; my post on July 21, 2023). The slope covered by the lilies is the property of the City of Yokohama. At the moment, the committee for Niiharu Forest, consisted of the city office, we the Lovers, neighborhood associations surrounding the forest, and elementary schools near the forest (; my post on April 22, 2016), is discussing how to proceed the management of the place. The original plan of the Office was to clear the ground and plant seedlings of broad-leaved trees as the original chestnut trees are old enough for dying out. Though the splender of the lilies these recent years is changing the minds of people ... We‘ll see how it turns out.

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 Green Environment Bureau
横浜市みどり環境局

Phone：045-353-1166
FAX：045-352-3086
mk-hokubukoen@city.yokohama.jp

Pancakes for weekend afternoon: Komorebi-no-mori Forest of Sagamihara 相模原中央緑地「こもれびの森」, II

 

First, let me tell you about a caution for walking in Komorebi-no-mori. Perhaps due to the history of the place, the forest has several commuter roads where cars are coming and going busily. Also, in our stroll, we can suddenly find ourselves in the middle of a housing area. Please be careful in many ways. Being hit by a car or regarded as trespassers is foolish conclusion of a leisurely walk. Having said that, enjoying the Forest is easy. It’s FLAT. No arduous ups and downs, inevitable for most Yokohama’s forests. Also, many trekking roads are well-maintained. Enthusiastic volunteers and the City Office do frequent maintenance works. The routes are (relatively) wide enough for wheelchair users. i.e. The forest is more or less barrier-free. It is an enviable condition from Yokohama’s point of view. The forest’s map is here.

Thank God, no car now.

One road goes the center of the forest,
and beyond is suburbia.

Whoops,

Roughly speaking, Komorebi-no-mori can be categorized into two areas, east and west. I surmise oak-tree wilt has responsibility for the difference. The west part of the forest has lots of large stamps treated by insecticide sheets. According to the people taking care of the place, the damage done by the wilt is subsiding this year, at least in the west forest. In any case, it may still be wise to be there watchful for above our head if boughs or the things are falling … Very ironically, because of the intensive treatment of the wilt = strong thinning of big trees, the west forest of Komorebi-no-mori has lots of “Komorebi,” aka “sunlight filtering through the leaves.” We can have relatively bright forest walks there. Especially when you’re with kids, elderly, and/or handicapped companion, it will be a nice relaxing walk in a forest. Inevitable buzzing noise of cars aside, we can also enjoy birds’ singing somewhere high above. (Another reason to look up.) Enjoy!

The central open space.
If you come from JR Kobuchi Station on foot,
and takes the pedestrian road straight
starting at the corner of the hospital,
this is the place you first find.

And the only toilet for the forest is
at “keep-on-going straight” from the open space.

The part treated for oak-tree wilt

Admitting it requires some technique
to manoeuvre the road for wheelchair users.
Still, it is enviable condition here, as a barrier-free forest.

The east part of the forest has an atmosphere of deeper vegetation. I don’t think trees here have escaped the oak-tree wilt. Rather, the kinds of trees in this part of the forest are not so loved by Platypus quercivorus, the vector of Raffaelea quercivora, yeast fungus which is a real culprit of the wilts. Yeah, the place also has lots of big trees but there are more bushes and shrubs where Platypus quercivorus cannot make home (; my post on August 23, 2019). The trekking route in this part is narrower. Though flat, it may be difficult for wheelchair users to explore … Even though, we can enjoy delicate vegetation including Japanese beautyberries and silvervines. Without venturing in more remote areas of Tanzawa 丹沢, it’s a casual refreshing walk in a forest in the middle of suburbia. Not bad.

East forest is bushier.

Trees are thinner.

White flowers of a silvervine

Entire roads in Komorebi-no-mori have lots of benches here and there (though not many picnic tables). If you’re coming here for an occasional refreshing stroll on busy days, it’s a good choice. Maybe, that’s the reason why Sagamihara Plateau quickly became suburb of Megalopolis Tokyo. Once the water problem has been solved, flat space with greeneries is a relaxing neighborhood for the 21st century urbanites. Please visit there, and have a nice weekend afternoon. 😊

If you find environmental issues in Sagamihara’s City Parks, please make a contact with

Water Green Environmental Division, City of Sagamihara
相模原市水みどり環境課
2-11-15, Chuo, Chuo-ku, City of Sagamihara 252-5277
〒252-5277　中央区中央2-11-15　市役所本館5階

Phone: 042-769-8242
FAX: 042-759-4395.

You can send an enquiry to them by clicking the bottom line of their homepage at https://www.city.sagamihara.kanagawa.jp/cgi-bin/contact.cgi?mail=52150000

Everybody welcome: Komorebi-no-mori Forest of Sagamihara 相模原中央緑地「こもれびの森」, I

 

Phew, just returned from Niiharu. First, let’s visit a forest popular among the locals in Sagamihara. It’s called Komorebi-no-mori こもれびの森, er, literally translating “Forest where sunlight filtering through the leaves.” If you have been to Sagamihara Park 相模原公園 from JR Kobuchi Station 古淵駅 (; my post on January 25, 2019), you take bus to the Park. Before the commuter service goes into the factories area, we pass through a forest which looks substantial. That’s Komorebi-no-mori. In 1973, the place of 73ha received the designation of “special conservation area for greeneries.” Size-wise it is similar to Niiharu Citizen Forest, but the place does not have a visitor center. It also equips only one toilet (Niiharu has 2 for visitors. We Lovers has 3 toilets to use). It sounds like inconvenient place. Nah. That’s the point for flat Komorebi-no-mori.

Flat

The access to the forest is on foot from Kobuchi Station. By a leisurely walk on a flat road, it’s about 15 minutes from the station to the central open space of the forest. Not bad. Leave the station to the right, and you’ll see a big sign of AEON shopping center over there. Please reach there first. You’ll see the main street where AEON on your right, and Itoyokado shopping centre on your left. Go straight of this street and use a huge footbridge to cross Route 16 and reach to the other side. Keep on going straight. Soon, on your left over the main street, there is Family Mart convenience store, and on your right is Sagamihara Minami Hospital. Between the hospital building and the parking space for the hospital, there is a well-paved pedestrian road going straight. That‘s the entrance to Komorebi-no-mori. Simply keep on going. In weekends, there are lots of families, with toddlers on tricycles, use this way to reach to their be-loved forest.

Turn right at the exit of the Kobuchi Station,
you’ll see AEON Sagamihara over there.
Please go there first.

AEON Sagamihara

Please use this footbridge over Route 16.

Descending from the bridge, we’ll face Route 16 at this point.
Turn your back to the 16, and please keep on going straight.

Family Mart on your left.
Oh, Komorebi-no-mori does not have any café et al.
If you need your lunch or drink,
this is the final point you can procure the things before the forest.

The hospital

The beginning of the entrance to Komorebi-no-mori

The road goes like this until it reaches the forest.

Before reaching to the central open space of the Komorebi-no-mori, you can find a dry small moat-like structure running along the pedestrian road. That’s a historical canal telling people’s struggle for water. The area around here began to be populated around the 1930s, less than 100 years ago. It’s simply because of the difficulty of getting water. At the beginning people struggled to dig a canal from Sagami River. Especially after the end of World War II, when the community experienced population explosion (yes! It happened in Japan!), people went frantic to have a well-structured water way to irrigate their farmland, aka food. That’s why this dry canal is so well-constructed. The canal was completed in 1963. By then Kanagawa Prefecture had completed establishing the basic structure of present-day water supply system from Sagami 相模川 and Sakawa 酒匂川 Rivers. The canal became redundant, before being used fully for the original purpose. The beautiful masonry tells the importance of the original project for pioneers who first ventured into the area …

The canal is dry …

The original crops around the area was staples for dryland, hay for animal food, and broad-leaved trees suitable for baking charcoal. Charcoal was a good business before in the 1960s petro dominated the energy and beyond of our daily lives. After the world of charcoal ended, people abandoned the trees they planted in the area. A familiar story (; my post for February 24, 2017). According to the Guidebook for Komorebi-no-mori, even after the City of Sagamihara designated the area as special conservation area, the neglected forests became out of control. In 1984, the outbreak of Caligula japonica and Kunugia yamadai spread over the neighbourhood’s private gardens which were by then a typical suburbia of Tokyo. People freaked out and screamed their concern about the situation of the abandoned forest. In 1989, the City finalized the conservation scheme of the area. In the plan the local government made a contract with local landlords for rental agreement and became responsible for the management of the forest. At the same time, the office started constructing strolling paths crisscrossing the forest for the citizens enjoying relaxing walk. The municipality also invited citizen volunteers to join the forest management. In 2003, the comprehensive plan for maintenance and conservation was established where citizen volunteers play crucial roles. The city summarizes the 2003 plan in this neat pamphlet.

When we stroll Komorebi-no-mori,
we sometimes find ourselves
returning to a typical Tokyo suburbia.
I guess they were the people
who met the outbreak of mosses in the 1980s.

Currently, half the land of Komorebi-no-mori is owned by the private landlords and the rest is owned by the public sector. Whereas 93% of the forest is managed by the public sector by the contract with the landlords. The City then support groups of citizen volunteers who declared bid for the regular care for the forest. The history is very similar to the beginning of Yokohama’s Citizen Forest scheme (; my post on January 29, 2016). Maybe, it was the general trend for the urban greeneries at the end of the 20th century. Next week, I tell you friendly paths for Komorebi-no-mori. Please stay tuned.

If you find environmental issues in Sagamihara’s City Parks, please make a contact with

Water, Green, Environmental Division, City of Sagamihara
相模原市水みどり環境課

2-11-15, Chuo, Chuo-ku, City of Sagamihara 252-5277
〒252-5277　中央区中央2-11-15　市役所本館5階

Phone: 042-769-8242
FAX: 042-759-4395.

You can send an enquiry to them by clicking the bottom line of their homepage at https://www.city.sagamihara.kanagawa.jp/cgi-bin/contact.cgi?mail=52150000

Breaking News: Golden-rayed Lilies will fully bloom next weekend in Niiharu 新治市民の森

 

Before talking about forests in Sagamihara Plateau, I have to tell you this. Golden-rayed lilies in the chestnut orchard of Niiharu Citizen Forest 新治市民の森 (; my post on July 21, 2023) will bloom fully next weekend. Already this weekend, the impressive scent of the flower has started to waft. If you’re around Yokohama, please come. It will be impressive again this year. 😍

The slope of the chestnut orchard in
Niiharu Citizen Forest as of July 6, 2024.

The buds were plump.
Today, I rescued some of them strangled
by vine plants like Dioscorea tokoro.

Gooseneck loosestrife and
salvia japonica are also beautiful now.

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