Kamisusgetacho Citizen Forest is one of two Citizen Forests located in urban housing area of Hodogaya Ward. It has about 22000m2. As a Citizen Forest, it is in the smaller group. It has no public car-parking. The forest does not have toilet. No convenience store, or the like, nearby. Before visiting the place, please get done the necessary things when you need such facilities. No mini stores near tells this is the area where old families remain holding the land tenure.
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| The neighbor of the forest |
Sure enough, after you get off the nearest
commuter bus stop, along the way you can find ancient local religious
facilities, like temples, shrine, and monuments for pagan religions. The most
convenient bus stop to the forest is Terashitabashi Stop 寺下橋
for
Service 129 (between Sotetsu Tsurgamine Station and Shin-Yokohama Station)
Service 248 (between Sasayama Housing Complex and Senmarudai Housing Complex via Sotetsu Nishiya Station)Service 256 (between JR Kamoi Station and Kamoi 6-chome)
Service 92 (between Yokohama Station and Sasayama Housing Complex)
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| Near
the stop, there are these statues of Hayagriva. It means this road was once a busy utility road where lots of packhorse drivers came and went with their cargo. |
You get off at Terashitabashi Stop and look to the East. You’ll find a small ridge covered by greenery. That’s the direction we aim for. Enter a small commuter road nearest to the bus stop in the direction of green ridge. Soon we cross a bridge over a small stream, then there is a Y crossing. Just before the bridge there is a small monument for ancient local religion in now a busy rental parking space. Choose the left road at the Y crossing. It is now a steep Yokohama slope. Keep on going and turn left at the second corner from the Y crossing. The road is sandwiched by farmland on our right and a hill of forest on our left. Shortly, Kami-Sugeta Special Support School is over there in front of us, and we’ll find entrances to Kami-Sugetacho Citizen Forest.
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| Terashitabashi Stop from Route 16 … |
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| or
Terashitabashi Stop from Shin-Yokohama Station. Could you find a small road turning to the left in this photo? That’s the entrance to the route. |
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| The
scenery from the corner of the above photo looks like this. |
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| The
ancient pagan statues, some 200-300 years old. Now a car completely blocks the monument. |
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| Cross the pequeño bridge … |
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| Then
take the left of the Y crossing. Our destination is the forest over there. |
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| The
second road to the left. Could you see a signpost? It says “Kami-Sugeta Special Support School, this way.” Bingo. |
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| The road is like this. |
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| On our right is a farm field. |
Actually, the forest that went along with us from the corner with the signpost is Kami-Sugetacho Citizen Forest. i.e. It’s on the hill. So, to enter the forest, we have to go up. The first two entrances we find to the forest are in steps, as many other Yokohama Citizen Forests. The uniqueness of Kami-sugetacho Forest is about 30m ahead. There is another entrance that is a paved slope wide enough for wheelchairs and stretchers to go in. Yeah, the route has a so-so slope-angle, but it is not as steep as the entrance slope for Koishikawa Botanical Garden or Wild Bird Park. If a wheelchairer uses a powerful motor, s/he could visit here alone, I guess.
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| And the left is Kami-Sugetacho Citizen Forest. |
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| A standard entrance to Yokohama’s Citizen Forest. |
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| And this is THE universal access entrance. |
Inside the forest, strolling paths go around a peak of the hill (; the map is here). The route has 3 points with steps, but at least one of them has a sloped detour. All the roads are wide enough for wheelchairs. A fly in the ointment could be the paved area is limited in the forest. Still, the roads are well-built hard cray without bumps. I’m not sure if the maintenance of the environment is easy after a torrential rain, but the design of the road sets strategic inclinations here and there for drainages. As this is a very new citizen forest, we have to wait if the intention of landscape architect works well. But at least there is a will, which is a HUGE improvement, I think.
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| The road is wide. |
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| The route is encircling the hilltop in the middle. |
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| The space is ample for wheelchair maneuvering. |
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| Non-paved but well-built road surface |
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| This
is one of the steps inside the route. It is steep. Probably, we have to accept this typical slope of Yokohama. |
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| Still the rest of the route is easy to walk. |
The forest itself is a familiar Satoyama forest in Yokohama. It has many coppiced tall trees. It tells the place is remnants of charcoal-baking village life. As these trees are very large, the place must have been neglected for some time after petrol came into our daily life (= no demand for charcoal as fuel). A part of the slope facing the bus stop direction is covered by bamboos that also is evidence for a typical utility forest of yesteryears in Yokohama. As the design of the strolling paths is for universal access, the road is very easy to walk for everybody. There are several benches for visitors to sit and have a cup of tea from their thermos. One of the picnic points has a wide view for Mt. Fuji if the weather is right. I really hope the forest can offer an increased opportunity for people with disability to enjoy backyard nature in our own neighborhood. Kami-Sugetacho Forest is another start for Yokohama’s Citizen Forest.
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| Very large coppiced tree |
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| Bamboos |
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| Mt. Fuji is here! |
Oh, I have to add this. FYI, next to Kami-sugetacho Citizen Forest, there is Kami-Sugeta East Park. The place is not for strolling in greenery, but for a baseball field, a lawned space, and toilets. The entrance to the Park is in the opposite side of the Forest. To borrow toilet there it could take at least 5-10 minutes’ walk from the exit of the Citizen Forest. Good luck.
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| Kami-Sugeta East Park |
If you have any questions about Yokohama’s Green Tax and Green Up Plan, please make a contact with
Strategic Planning Division, Green Environment Bureau, City of Yokohama
横浜市みどり環境局戦略企画課
Phone: 045-671-2712
FAX: 045-550-4093
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