The Nature of Shalom Forest

Shalom no Mori was one beautiful place. I could have spent months hiking, finding new and interesting natural spectacles. And I don't mean eyeglasses! Although I guess finding naturally made glasses would be quite a natural spectacle, indeed. Anyway, so let me tell you about the Forest of Shalom itself, and it's history.

The other day, while Hiro-san and I were driving our bags of poop up the mountain, he told me the history of the forest. The land was originally purchased by Hiro's "4-step" grandfather, as he told me. I take this to mean his great-great-great grandfather. Hiro also informed me that the land was purchased around the beginning of the Meiji period, which began in 1868. So either way, it's been in the family for quite a while. Hiro's ancestor purchased the land with the profits from his lucrative shop in town. The land was originally bought to make profit from its one abundant natural resource- wood. At the time, the Meiji government was nationalizing and modernizing the country, an effort which requires a lot of energy and material. Demand for wood was up and he got top dollar for the stuff. Thus, the wealthy shop owner became wealthier. He, or one of his children, planted new trees (Japanese cypress and cedar) which are currently standing. This planting resulted in tree stands very straight and tall like this:

Woods

Unfortunately, after the development of fossil fuels as a power source, along with international trade, the cost of wood fell dramatically. Hiro-san offered me a telling comparison- he can trade one tree for approximately one radish. And so, he does not sell the trees, but keeps them where they stand. But there are other natural resources at Shalom no Mori that can generate income- the river and its inhabitants.

A calm section of the mountain stream

Yamame, or Japanese trout. Can you spot it?

Fly fishing is incredibly popular in Japan, Tokyo especially. However, due to Japan's high population density most rivers where fly-fishing is possible are overcrowded with fishermen. Hiro-san has taken advantage of this dilemma- he runs a fly fishing business where he limits the fishing to only eight enthusiasts per day. On a property of about 10 square kilometers, it is a far more natural experience for Tokyo residents than the usual fishing hole. This benefit extends to Hiro-san, whose woods maintain their peaceful nature.

I had time to go on a hike one day. I wish I'd had more days with time to hike, but usually by the time work was through the sun was already setting. Aside from that, work started too early to hike in the morning, and the break after lunch was only 30 minutes- not enough time to get very far. Here are some photos from the hike.



Okay, so I like mountain streams and waterfalls. The last full day I had at Shalom no Mori, Hiro-san drove me to the top of the mountain with a mountain bike. It's a rugged drive up, despite the occasional paved section:

One of the cleaner paved sections (it's a tree, not a bridge)

Once I reached the top, I took a bunch of photos and then sketched for about an hour. It was a very beautiful overlook. Goddamn I wish I could have camped out there for a few days, taken some night photos of the stars, photos of sunrise etc. If anything, my experience there has encouraged me to take advantage of the natural bounty of the United States and to go camping more.



Ahh, what a beautiful place. The ride down the mountain was a lot of fun, and very fast.

To view more (and better) photos and information, in Japanese, on Shalom Forest please go to Hiro-san's homepage:

http://www.shalomnet.net/