What to keep: Retention forestry for Hiromachi Ryokuchi Forest 広町緑地

 

Let’s return to the crossing where we entered Kotakegaya Valley 小竹ヶ谷 at the forest of Japanese lacquer tree. This time we take the road to the south. This route brings us Takegaya Valley 竹ヶ谷. In Japanese, prefix “ko” can mean “small.” So, I surmise Takegaya Valley was thought larger than Kotakegaya Valley when people named the place millennium years ago. Indeed, the size of the valley to this direction is definitely bigger and the stream we walk along is longer than that for Kotakegaya. After a bit of stroll on an ordinary country pass, we enter a well-maintained boardwalk. The Vally is a good-sized wetland in which casual visitors need elevated route to ramble. The walk is roughly 150m long and both sides of it show various kind of vegetation changing its face from season to season. Beneath the board, there are streams and ponds where aquatic creatures, like larva of fireflies, live.

The beginning of the Takegaya Valley

The stream in Takegaya Valley has a good amount of flow.

Especially during winter,
volunteers do repair work for ponds in Takegaya Valley.

The well-maintained boardwalk

The bog seen from the boardwalk in winter

When we enter the forest from this direction, it becomes clearer the impression of “lots of trees” we had when we proceed along the farming area (; my post last week). Of course, the ecosystem of natural wetland gives us more diverse living things compared with dry-land forests. But I think it’s not only for this reason, but also from the surrounding forest itself. Strangely, even comparing with celebrated Koajiro Forest (; my post on July 15, 2016), the forest of Hiromachi Ryokuchi looks having more mixture of vegetations. Geologically speaking Koajiro and Hiromachi stood on the same Miura Group. At least the dryland part of the environment for both Koajiro and Hiromachi forests could be more or less the same. But …

The forest surrounding the Valley
looks biodiverse in Hiromachi Forest.

The recent scenery from Koajiro Forest.
During winter we can easily notice
 some places of the forest is getting dry,
and sasa bamboos easily start dominating the site.

Yeah, I do not know scientific research done for these places measuring biodiversity. My intuition in this post is purely from my subjective feeling. To be fair for Koajiro, it is still suffering the aftereffects of 3.11. tsunami that attacked the place 14 years ago. The killer wave entered deep inside the wetland of Koajiro, swept some vegetations stood at the rim of the marsh. In addition, the Koajiro is damaged by rampant oak tree wilt that has made gaps in the forest spreading along the boardwalk. Still, it might not explain everything. The keeper of Koajiro Forest, NPO Koajiro Field Activity Coordination Conference 小網代野外活動調整会議, heavily engineers the water flow of the Koajiro in order to maintain the size of wetland. Their way of keeping the ground wet is manual constructions of numerous small dams and banks that control the flow of water. Such human intervention prevents the ground from aridification. Why do they do so? When the volunteers came in more than 10 years ago for reconstructing the place, their rice paddies were abandoned, and the place was showing rapid drying. In contrast, Hiromachi’s wetlands are smaller and even today showing previous usage as rice paddies, i.e. not showing possible collapse as a swamp. Probably it allows the Kamakura Hiromachi Forest Citizen Association 鎌倉広町の森市民の会, the keeper of the forest, hands-off approach, such as their “complete” organic farming. The end result is a rich forest of broadleaved trees thriving amid the sea of suburban landscape of houses.

A scenery from a slope for Takegaya Valley

We proceeded on the boardwalk, and soon the road rapidly climbing up for the ridge way. If we continue straight from the point we reached the ridge, it leads us to Johka Centre Entrance 浄化センター入口that is the nearest gate of the forest for Shichirigahama Station 七里ガ浜駅. To the east, we head for Kamakurayama Iriguchi Entrance 鎌倉山入口. To the west, we can go down to Kamakura Highschool Station 鎌倉高校前駅 via Shichirigahama Entrance 七里ガ浜入口. It is also very interesting strolling the ridge way of Hiromachi Ryokuchi. We notice there is a variety of large broadleaved trees, evergreen and deciduous. Many have name plate placed by the volunteers, a show of love to the place. The road is sometimes narrow, but well-maintained and difficult to lose direction. Even though, the bushes of, say, sasa bamboos and Japanese laurel, often remained intact. Thanks to such forest maintenance, the place is famous for little wild birds needing bushes for their home and refuge. Japanese bush warbler, black-faced bunting, red-flanked bluetail, Siberian blue robin, blue and white flycatcher … Where small birds and mammals thrive, there are birds of prey at the peak of food chain. Eastern buzzard, Eurasian goshawk, owl, … It tells something of success for maintaining biodiversity through human intervention.

The ridge way to the direction of Shichirigahama Entrance

Shichirigahama Entrance.
The route dives straight into a suburbia of houses.

Passing the Shichirigahaa Entrance,
and going to the direction of Johka Centre Entrance,
we walk through bush of sasa bamboos.
The road is clear,
i.e. the volunteers control the invasion of sasa into the route.
Such an environment is loved by small birds as their home.

Mixture of Japanese laurel and large broadleaved trees.
Beautiful.

This is a large Cerasus jamasakura in winter.

During winter, we can easily notice
fat trunks of large trees in the ridge way of Hiromachi.

Going down to Johka Centre Entrance

The other day, I attended a zoom session done by Dr. Yuichi Yamaura of Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute (FFPRI) of Japan. He said retention forestry is currently the most understandable tool for maintaining biodiversity of a forest. Forestry is in the end the way to use forest for human business. The best method for cost minimization is clear-cut logging = deforestation = damage to biodiversity. In retention forestry, human intervention to a forest is done by strategically selecting trees to be retained. Those preserved trees then act as mother trees. The environment around them is not disturbed even if it might be a small area. They also spread their seeds, which makes the germination rate higher. Gene level contamination can be avoided for the environment, in contrast to the method of planting seedlings brought from some other places. Nature is a strong creature. If a sufficient condition is met, notwithstanding human money-making activities, a forest and biodiversity can recover rather sooner in such retention forestry. Humans can also achieve a successful forestry business by harvesting the trees. The issue in this approach for Japan is our highly diverse geography. Our forest can show different ecosystems even between minute valleys locating side-by-side sandwiching a ridge. A way of selecting mother trees on this side of valley may not be optimum for another side. Inevitably, the Japanese way of retention operation is the process of trials and errors …

I love this scenery in the ridge way of Hiromachi.
Bushes and large trees consist of many kinds of vegetation.
Yet, the road is well-maintained.

I think the enthusiastic “organic operation” Kamakura Hiromachi Forest Citizen Association is very successful so far for biodiverse forest. It would be an example of effective retention forestry for urban forest park. But it may not be suitable for Koajiro Forest that has larger wetland and directly facing sea. Or how about for Niiharu Citizen Forest? It’s difficult to have a conclusion … Still, please visit Hiromachi Ryokuchi Forest where lots of living creatures including enthusiastic organic volunteer farmers are calmly busy all year round. It’s just another side of the noisy tourism melee of Slam Dunk.

The management office which is what we’ve found at the entrance is

Kamakura Hiromachi Ryokuchi Management Office 鎌倉広町緑地管理事務所
1133 Tsu, Kamakura, 248-0032
〒 248-0032 鎌倉市津1133番地
Phone/FAX：0467-32-5112

The city office who oversees the place is

Parks and Green Spaces Section, Kamakura Cityscape Division 都市景観部みどり公園課　
18-10 Onarimachi, Kamakura, 248-8686
〒248-8686鎌倉市御成町18-10 本庁舎3階
Phone: 0467-61-3491 

park@city.kamakura.kanagawa.jp

To the Ridge: let’s start walking Hiromachi Ryokuchi 広町緑地

 

The entrance for Hiromachi Forest 広町緑地 where the admin office located, is called Goshodani 御所谷 Entrance. I recommend visiting the admin office first and gathering useful information, like maps, the recent news about living creatures in the forest, and the latest schedule of cultural events for crafts, cooking Japanese herbs, etc. You can ask staff there if you have any questions. The place has toilets and a vending machine for drinks. It’s a comfortable house. The forest has 4 other entrances, all of which are beyond the ridge way observing Sagami Bay. The nearest commuter stations for these gates are of Enoden Line; Shichirigahama Station 七里ガ浜駅 from Johka Centre Entrance 浄化センター入口, Ofuna and Kamakura Stations via Keikyu bus ride from Kamakurayama Iriguchi Entrance 鎌倉山入口, Kamakura Highschool Station 鎌倉高校前駅 from Shichirigahama Entrance 七里ガ浜入口, and Koshigoe Station 腰越駅 from Murogaya Entrance 室ヶ谷入口. All are the center of the recent international tourism melee (; my post for March 9, 2025). You can try them if you like. The map of Hiromachi Ryokuchi Forest can be checked here.

The signpost at Goshodani Entrance

Admin Office

From the point where the admin office stands, there start 4 trekking roads all reach to the east ridge way. 3 of these first go along a small stream. They meet in front of the admin office and become Goudo River 神戸川pouring to Sagami Bay 相模湾. On course starts right behind the admin office and go straight to climb up to the ridge as a short cut. 3 other routes give us a feel walking the place which was once rice puddies and/or faming field. The forest was always near human life ... Let‘s walk these roads one by one. The most popular strolling path is to the east from the admin office along Goshogawa River 御所川, or I would say ‘Stream.‘ Before start climbing to the ridge, this route proceeds beside rice puddies and farming fields on our right. Enthusiastic volunteers engage in organic cultivation here. Goshogawa River runs west of these farming ground, by the bottom of a “cliff.“ It is a geological fault line typical of Miura Peninsula 三浦半島 in which Kamakura is the west end. The strata is called Miura Group upthrusted from the bottom of the sea between 12-2.8 million years ago during the crush of Eurasian and Phillipines plates. The top soil of it is very shallow. Here, we observe roots of the trees clinging to the soil. Tough guys. The slope of the north “bank” or the stream is rapidly ascending to the other ridge above our head where rows of houses are standing. This greenery was really spared from a march of housing development …

The start of the path to the east.
The huts on the right are for ag-tools of volunteers.

This way goes along the farming field.
During weekends and school recess,
kids are running and playing here.
Could you find a house on the ridge?

Goshogawa “River.”
The strata of Miura Group is obvious.

On our right beyond the organic farming, we can see a forest of evergreen broadleaved woodland with various trees.I thought this is something rare in urban areas of Kanagawa Prefecture. Take Yokohama. Almost all the forests in our city are secondary forest in which once people used the land as farmland, or planted deciduous oaks for fuel with regular cutting. From the 1960s, petrol kicked oaks out from the market, and the forest went neglected. Now 60 years later, these abandoned forests in urban Kanagawa are often monotonously dominated by large Quercus myrsinifolia whose evergreen leaves prevent sunlight from reaching the floor. The other plants cannot thrive in such places. Compared with neglected forests of this kind, Hiromachi Ryokuchi shows more variety of a jumbled mess. Somebody stops the total control of Quercus myrsinifolia over the forest. And this greenery is loved by the locals. Hmmmmmmmm.

The forest over there beyond the farmland.

The road alongside the farming field leisuring turns right at the point where a large Chinese Hackberry spreads its boughs. In summer this is the place lots of visitors take refuge from a harsh sunlight. Soon, we say goodbye to the wetland, and a steep slope rapidly goes up to the ridge way. The route is supported here and there with steps. We can see a typical Miura Group geological feature on these steps. At the end of this route is Kamakurayama Iriguchi Entrance. Without proceeding to the forest gate, please turn right at the point where we can see Sagami Bay beyond the housing area. Taking a detour to the right at the #21 forest map, we can reach the biggest Cerasus jamasakura in Hiromachi Ryokuchi. As of March 20, 2025, they are still in hard buds, and hence the planned cherry blossoms party at Hiromachi Ryokuchi was cancelled. But at the end of next week, they could be in full-bloom. If you plan to visit Hiromachi Ryokuchi for cherry blossoms, this is the week to challenge your instincts 😉.

Chinese Hackberry

The steps go up.

At the fork in the trekking road between
Kamakurayama Iriguchi Entrance and to the ridge way,
there is a map #8.

Around map #8,
there is a point where we can observe Sagami Bay.

Ridge way is like this.

Cherry tree.
Will it bloom by the end of next week?

Let‘s take another road, this time to the west from the admin office. At a small forest of Japanese lacquer tree the road is soon parted in two ways, one to the south and another to to the west. Let’s take the west road. We are entering Kotakegaya valley 小竹ヶ谷 that was once rice paddies. Now the paddies are filled up, but small stream are still running next to the trekking road. At the end of the path, there is a small marsh which is a water source. The vegtation in this valley is ferms and those who love wet and shady environment. We walk a bit from the water source area and go up steps. In no time, we stand the west corner of ridge way. In terms of steepness, this route is far milder to reach the ridge compared with the route along Goshogawa River. If you go straight, there is another gate, Murogaya Entrance 室ヶ谷入口. To reach to the gate, we have to pass slippery steps. Please be careful. Instead, if we turn left when we reach to the ridge, we enter the ridge course of Hiromachi Ryokuchi. When you find #25 forest map on your right, take detour by choosing the left path. This will bring you the best point where we can admire beautiful Mt. Fuji beyond Sagami Bay, weather permitting. It takes just 10 minutes or so strolling from the departing point for Murogaya Entrance. The viewing point is at the dead end. We must return the ridgeway. In any case, the trekking route is simple and we can find lots of housing roofs beyond the forest. Please relax.

The fork next to the Japanese lacquer trees
is at the end of this photo.

The strolling path in Kotakegaya valley.

The road goes with a small stream.

Ferns thrive in the end of Kotakegaya Valley.

We’ve reached the ridge.

Ridge way

The #24 map is there.

The way to Mt. Fuji view …

When I’ve been there, Mt. Fuji was backlit …

Next week, I will introduce you another trekking route from the admin office, and the loved feature of ridge way by wild birds. Please stay tuned!

A cat I met in the Hiromachi Ridge Way.

The management office which is what we’ve found at the entrance is

Kamakura Hiromachi Ryokuchi Management Office 鎌倉広町緑地管理事務所
1133 Tsu, Kamakura, 248-0032
〒 248-0032 鎌倉市津1133番地
Phone/FAX：0467-32-5112

The city office who oversees the place is

Parks and Green Spaces Section, Kamakura Cityscape Division 

都市景観部みどり公園課　
18-10 Onarimachi, Kamakura, 248-8686
〒248-8686鎌倉市御成町18-10 本庁舎3階
Phone: 0467-61-3491

park@city.kamakura.kanagawa.jp

Return of Citizen Power in Kamakura: the birth of Hiromachi Ryokuchi and Kamakura Hiromachi Forest Citizen Association 広町緑地

 

I tell you a bit the story of the birth of Hiromachi Ryokuchi Forest 広町緑地. Er, well, the forest itself has been there for centuries, but the place was once destined to be rows of houses. In 1970, two years after Japanese City Planning Act became effective, the city planner of Kamakura City designated the area for Urbanization Area (; my post for January 12, 2025). Of course, they did not think this place was suitable for a business district like Marunouchi 丸の内 of Tokyo. The place around Nishi-Kamakura Station had been an area for summer houses of rich people in Tokyo since the 1920s. As a natural extension, the land of now Hiromachi Ryokuchi was considered a good housing area for commuters to downtown. The public transportation for them, i.e. Shonan Monorail 湘南モノレール, was experimentally introduced to the area in 1964, and the full service between Ofuna 大船 and Shonan Enoshima 湘南江の島 stations began in 1970 = the year when the place became Urbanization Area. In 1973, landlords = 3 giga-developers from Tokyo submitted a master plan to the city for bulldozing 38ha forest.

Around Hiromachi Ryokuchi, ordinary suburbia is thriving.

I think the businesspeople from Tokyo failed to realize the “society” of yesteryear summer houses already well-established around the forest in the proud City of Kamakura. Local uproar ensued, voicing strong opinions against real estate business from downtown. The rollercoaster ride of this process is explained in detail here. By 2002, such a local movement gathered signatures asking for the preservation of the forest. The number of signatories was larger than the population of Kamakura City. The city office gave in. Already in 1986, Kanagawa Prefecture established the Kanagawa Trust Midori (= “green”) Fund inheriting the capital partially from the reorganized public corporation of forestry in Kanagawa Prefecture. (er … this part of economic history for Japanese forestry and the primary industry needs very long explanation, I guess. It’s beyond the zone of this fun blog … I might return to the topic someday …) The purpose of this money was to rescue “endangered” greenery in the mapping exercise of City Planning Act. Hiromachi Ryokuchi had a resume perfectly fit for the idea. In 2002 11.3 billion yen (about USD 87 million for 2002 rate) was deployed from the fund, and the title holder of the land was changed from private real estate business to the City of Kamakura.

The border between Hiromachi Ryokuchi and
housing area is this one ordinary commuter road.

To 38ha, the surrounding 10ha was added and the city designated the entire area as Urban Forest Park. By doing so, the city declared the natural ecosystem of Hiromachi Ryokuchi standing next to housing suburbia was to be protected. In 2004 the master plan for Hiromchi Ryokuchi protection was formulated to open the place as a park in 2015. Meanwhile, in 2003 the civic movement for saving the Hiromachi Ryokuchi incorporated their movement as non-profit and joined the planning and execution for the city’s master plan. Their movement, now named Kamakura Hiromachi Forest Citizen Association, received several awards from the prefecture and the national government. They became the official keeper of Hiromachi Ryokuchi Forest by contract with the City of Kamakura.

This is the admin office for Hiromachi Ryokuchi
where Citizen Association stations.

The staff from the Association station at the Admin Office for 8:30-17:15, and 5 teams of volunteers organized by the Association engage in preservation efforts of the forest. They are

1. A Team engaging forestry

2. A Team for organic rice cultivation

3. A Team for organic veggie cultivation

4. A Team for maintaining trekking routes in the Forest

5. A Team for researching and recording ecosystem of the Forest 

The Association welcomes donation, pecuniary and man-power-wise any time for supporting the protection of Hiromachi Ryokuchi. You can make contact from this HP of theirs, or visit/call the admin office of the Forest whose address is listed at the end of this post. I know a guy who is a member of rice cultivation team. He said “You know, organic rice cultivation is really labor-intensive task! We don’t use gas-powered tools like tractors or the like.” … I think before petrol-dominating farming, there was horses and cows … Also, several members of the team for ecosystem research are assisting professional researchers for Kanagawa Prefectural Museumof Natural History. Their nature observation tour of Hiromachi Ryokuchi is really a fun. Please check this event calendar if you’re interested in such things. In the calendar you can find other cultural events like traditional organic cooking and crafts. They are popular. You need to make a reservation ASAP when you find the opening.

Organic volunteer farmers are in action.

Of course, without joining such volunteering or events, we can stroll the forest as we like it. Next week, I tell you my adventure of walking in the nature of Hiromachi. I think their approach is a kind of extension from Retention Forestry. Please stay tuned!

The management office which is what we’ve found at the entrance is

Kamakura Hiromachi Ryokuchi Management Office 鎌倉広町緑地管理事務所
1133 Tsu, Kamakura, 248-0032
〒 248-0032 鎌倉市津1133番地
Phone/FAX：0467-32-5112

The city office who oversees the place is

Parks and Green Spaces Section, Kamakura Cityscape Division 都市景観部みどり公園課　
18-10 Onarimachi, Kamakura, 248-8686
〒248-8686鎌倉市御成町18-10 本庁舎3階
Phone: 0467-61-3491

park@city.kamakura.kanagawa.jp

National Trust in Kanagawa and forest instructor training

Yokohama’s Citizen Forest was born of the idea to preserve urban greenery that was threatened by relentless urbanization in Metropolitan Tokyo. The large portion of Kanagawa is also facing the same developmental problem. From the city of Odawara (小田原 the entrance to Hakone National Park) to the district of Marunouchi (丸の内 the major Tokyo business area with lots of HDQs of multinationals), it takes only 1 hour or so nowadays. As such, Kanagawa Prefecture has always been the frontline of the battle between suburbanization and natural environment. Take the City of Kamakura. Do you remember Wuethrich Citizen Forest, near the border between Yokohama and Kamakura? The former landlord of the place, Arnold Wuethrich from Bern, had a successful trading business in Tokyo, got married with a local girl, and built a European style home near the Forest in 1933. At that time the area was already posh among yuppies in the downtown for having their modern houses. Although the speed of bulldozers became slow during the war years, by 1960 it returned full-swing in Kanagawa. According to the city of Kamakura, among the forests threatened there were several historical greeneries. Some were conquered by the real-estate business. The present day houses around Enkakuji Temple 円覚寺 were newly built after the World War II.  

The road leading to Wuerthrich Forest is
now a well-established alley.
The width of this way tells us
this community is at least not brand-new.

Now people normally visit Enkakuji Temple from
the North Exit of JR Kitakamakura Station 北鎌倉.
But the original main entrance is near the South Exit,
shown here.
To reach to the temple buildings in an old-fashioned way
we have to pass a railroad crossing with the JR Yokosuka Line.
The rail service was started in 1889
in order to connect Tokyo and Yokosuka
that had the HDQ of Japanese Imperial Navy.
i.e., Long ago the construction demolished
the inner sanctuary of the religious establishment
that was very close to the ancient national political power.
The developmental enthusiasm ignored cultural things …
corollary: “who cares the forest spreading outside the Temple?”

In early 1964, the desire for housing expansion reached to Oyatsu 御谷 area, the forests surrounding Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine 鶴岡八幡宮. Yeah, it’s the huge Shinto shrine in the middle of Kamakura. Some of the yuppies moved from Tokyo in the early 20th century, including Nobel Laureate Yasunari Kawabata 川端康成, had become by then grand-old daddies of Japanese culture and voiced strong objections to this commercial scheme. The leading figure of their movement was Jiro Osaragi 大佛次郎, a popular novelist who widely disseminated the English idea of National Trust for the occasion. The star-studded volunteers established the Kamakura Trust 鎌倉風致保存会 in English style and solicited donations from all over Japan to buy-up the land. They also persuaded the City to demand very strict building code for the construction. The developer gave up their plan, and the City of Kamakura contributed partially to the fund, which in December 1964 enabled the Kamakura Trust to secure the threatened entire 1.5 ha. People say this was the beginning of Japanese National Trust movement. The success of volunteering by the Kamakura Trust instigated the similar movements in Kyoto and Nara, and finally in 1966 persuaded National Diet to legislate Act on Special Measures concerning Preservation of Traditional Scenic Beauty in Ancient Capitals 古都における歴史的風土の保存に関する特別措置法（古都保存法）.

It’s the photo taken few years back during the fall
 Yabusame Festival 流鏑馬 in Tsurugaoka Hachimangu.
Could you see the mountain over there?
That place could have been rows of houses and condos
if the Kamakura Trust had failed to obtain the land in 1964.
It’s … amazing.
Oh, by the way, this year’s Yabusame was held on October 2^nd.

And this is the inside of that mountain.
Actually, it is a part of the Rokkokutoge Hiking Trail 六国峠ハイキングコース
we visited from Yokohama the other day.
This spot might have been a parking lot for a supermarket,
if the developers had their way 50 years ago.

So, Kanagawa Prefecture is the birth place of Japanese National Trust. Since then, National Trust movement spread all over the country. In 1983 local organizations established a nation-wide coordination mechanism which is now the Association of National Trusts in Japan. Also in 1983, the Kanagawa Prefectural government convened a citizen council, かながわ都市緑化推進協議会, to discuss support system of the National Trust movement in the area. In 1985, the council evolved into a Prefectural Citizen Conference for Green Community Kanagawa みどりのまち・かながわ県民会議, and at the same time recommended the governor to provide seed money for supporting the Trust movement. Next year, in 1986, with 5 billion yen, Kanagawa Green Trust Fund was established. On the other hand, as a part of post-war reconstruction policy Japan has had afforestation program since 1950 that has evolved into fund-raising activities by National Land Afforestation Promotion Organization 国家緑化推進機構. In Kanagawa Prefecture, the money collected via the national scheme was arranged to feed into the Green Trust Fund. After several changes in the subsequent 20 years for tax laws and corporate legislations, in 2012 the Kanagawa Green Trust かながわみどり財団became to have the current form. Now, the Green Trust pools the money from the citizens, the Organization and the prefectural government. The Trust uses the fund to secure the threatened greenery in Kanagawa either by purchase or long-term lease agreement with landlords. During the very first day of the forest instructor course this year, the people from Kanagawa Green Trust explained they have about 200 million yen budget for FY 2016 (70% of it is from prefectural government). So far the Trust assured 28 forests of 84+ ha, half of them is in Kamakura and Miura Peninsula. Koajiro Forest is one of them.

Koajiro Forest. National Trust, Japanese style.

One of the ways the Kanagawa Green Trust raises money is
collection box system for public parking spaces throughout the prefecture.
It is to ask drivers 20 yen per car to offset
(at least partially) their carbon footprints.
It collects 20 million yen per year on average.
In Shikinomori Park 県立四季の森公園 near Niiharu,
20 yen is automatically added for the fee as this notice says.

The Trust also welcomes donations
from the corporations with CSR activity.
This is a billboard for Coca Cola
who donated the fund for the forest near
Kanagawa Natural Environment Conservation Center
神奈川県自然環境保全センター.

The Kanagawa Green Trust also promotes environmental education for the public and facilitates volunteer activities that take care of the assured nature. Their to-do list includes training forest instructors. One of the main objectives of this public funded education program is to nurture future leaders for environmental awareness in Kanagawa. For example, National Land Afforestation Promotion Organization has boy/girl scout style youth program in which school age kids can participate for basic forestry, community festivals, fund-raising activities, etc., including tree-planting ceremony presided by the Emperor. People from the Trust told us upon successful completion of the course, we are expected to lead these kids. There also is a program of helping school “forest day” where the instructors will be dispatched to teach kids technicalities of the basic forest husbandry. (A-ha, this is what my seniors of Niiharu Lovers do regularly for the schools around the Niiharu Forest.) The Green Trust organizes regular citizen forestry throughout the year where anybody who has the will can join for planting, weeding, thinning, coppicing … in the Trust forests and the forests in Hakone National Park and Tanzawa Quasi-National Park. The volunteer instructors will help the professionals for these occasions to organize 100+ participants majority of whom are pure urbanites without previous experience. “So, for accepting the new trainees of our course, we have invited you who have some experience of community activity in this field.” The trust people said. Sure enough, among us there are teachers from kindergartens where they bring kids to forests regularly. Aside from businessmen introducing themselves as “our company engages in the sustainable construction,” my fellow students include a yoga instructor and an aroma therapist, both expressing their expectation for the training that shall help their business to go more eco-friendly direction. How will the training go? I will report you my experience from time to time. ;) 

During the recent training day,
we ventured into the forest of
Kanagawa Natural Environment Conservation Center
to learn the basic monitoring technique for ground ecology.
This is a demonstration for dynamics study of seedling.

Chief Scientist of the Center, Mr. Atsushi Tamura,
teaches us how to use fish-eye lens
to measure the degree of canopy openness whose
value is almost exactly proportional to illuminance at the ground level.
FYI, Mr. Tamura introduced us a freeware,
CanopON2, to derive data from photos.
It is created by Mr. Akio Takenaka of
Center for Environmental Biology and Ecosystem Studies.

Tree-hugging, aka,
the lab to measure the size of trees in the forest

The contact address for Kanagawa Green Trust かながわトラストみどり財団 is

Phone: 045-412-2255

Email: midori@ktm.or.jp