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Mt. Wakasugi
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Overlooking the Fukuoka City urban area from Mt. Wakasugi
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Ayasugi Cedar at Taiso Shrine
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Great Cedar of Yamato
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Forest therapy in a Japanese cedar forest
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Forest Therapy Course
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Fresh verdure in a dawn redwood forest
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Entrance to Yamato-no-Mori Forest
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Looking out over Fukuoka city from the summit of Mt. Komenoyama
Wakasugi-Yama (Mt. Wakasugi) Recreation Forest
32.22ha
Elevation Lowest: 220 m / Average: 250–680 m / Highest: 680 m
See 5 giant cedars among the many massive trees
found in the Yamato-no-Mori Forest
- Newest information
- Area
- Activities
- Overview
- Latest Information
- Usage Guide
- Facility
- Map
- Location
- Access
(Distances and times are
provided as a guide only) - Management office
contact details - Information on Other Local
Tourist Attractions - Official Tourist Information
- Recreation Forest
Management Committee - Supporters
- Other
- Newest information
- CHECK
Please visit official tourism websites for the latest updates and information.
- Area
- Kyusyu
- Activities
- Flower-viewing (Cherry (Prunus)) Autumn leaf viewing (Includes surrounding area) Birdwatching (Includes surrounding area) Forest therapy (therapy center) (Outside the forest) Shrine / Temple (Includes surrounding area)
- Overview
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- Geographical/topographical features
- The Wakasugi-Yama (Mt. Wakasugi) Recreation Forest covers the area surrounding the summit of Mt. Wakasugi (681 m)―a peak in the Sangun Mountain Range―and along the Wakasugi Forest Road.
The area around the summit is steeply sloped, but the area around the Wakasugi Forest Road is moderately sloped and offers hiking courses for beginner- to intermediate-level hikers. - Historical/cultural features
- Mt. Wakasugi is said to be where Buddhist priest Kobo Daishi trained in the 9th century. According to legend, in the 19th century, a nun named Jinin dropped by Sasaguri Village while returning from her pilgrimage to Shikoku's 88 sacred sites and found the people of the village to be suffering from disease and the effects of a poor harvest.
She secluded herself at Fudo Falls and prayed to Kobo Daishi to save them. When Jinin's prayers were answered and peace returned to the village, 88 sacred sites were created in Sasaguri Village.
Today, the 88 Sasaguri Shikoku pilgrimage sites are known as one of Japan's three major Shin-Shikoku Reijo (new Shikoku sacred sites) along with Shodoshima Shikoku and Chita Shikoku, and are visited by pilgrims from all over Japan. There are many sacred sites, including Taiso Shrine (Jogu (upper shrine)) near the Mt. Wakasugi summit and Okunoin Temple, which is associated with Kobo Daishi. - Climate, flora and fauna
- The climate is temperate from spring through autumn, but as the area faces the Sea of Japan, strong northwesterly winds blow in the winter, bringing low temperatures and snowfall. The area receives about 2,000 mm of rainfall annually and is often affected by typhoons.
Mt. Wakasugi is famous for its old precious trees. The entire area of the Recreation Forest is a planted forest of Sugi (Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica)) and Hinoki (Japanese cypress (Chamaecyparis obtuse)), and most of the trees are over 200 years old.
The whole area has been designated as a wildlife sanctuary and is a treasure house of wild birds. The forest is home to many small birds including Mejiro (Japanese white-eye (Zosterops japonicus)), Hiyodori ((brown-eared bulbul) Hypsipetes amaurotis amaurotis), Yamagara ((varied tit) Poecile varius varius) and Shijukara (great tit (Parus major)). Migratory birds and wandering birds can also be found in the forest, such as Oruri (blue-and-white flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana)) in the summer and Uso (Eurasian bullfinch (Pyrrhula Pyrrhula griseiventris)) in the winter. - Attractions
- Groves of old Japanese cedars combined with Mt. Wakasugi's adjoining protected forest of plant communities create splendid forest scenery and attract various kinds of visitors, including worshippers visiting the nearby pilgrimage sites and hikers and families.
A field called "Wakasugi Rakuen" offers a magnificent view with Hakata Bay in the distance and the urban areas of Fukuoka City and Sasaguri Town spreading below, forming a breathtaking nightscape. From the summit, visitors can take in a panoramic view of the majestic Sangun Mountain Range, Yakiyama Pass and Mt. Hiko, as well as the urban areas of Sue Town, Umi Town and Dazaifu City.
There is a luxurious cafe half way up the mountain where patrons can eat and relax while looking out over a stunning vista―a perfect spot to go on a date.
The Yamato-no-Mori Forest Footpath follows a 2 km circuit, enabling visitors to visit 5 giant cedars growing in different parts of the forest within 90 minutes. The Great Cedar of Yamato ("Yamato no Osugi"), which continues to grow today, has a trunk circumference of 16.15 m and has been included among the 100 Giants of the Forest along with Toda's Two-Forked Cedar ("Toda no Futamatasugi").
The Yamato-no-Mori Forest Footpath is also adjacent to the wood chip covered "Sunset Course" ("Rakuyo Course"), which has been approved as a path appropriate for forest therapy and is a place where visitors can enjoy a refreshing walk in a forest of Japanese cedar and Metasekoia (dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides)).
- Latest Information
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- Regular events
- Kyushu Shinrin Sports Festa in Sasaguri (normally around November)
- Warnings (Flora and fauna)
- Inoshishi (wild boar (Sus scrofa leucomystax)): If you see a boar, do not approach it. Be calm and move slowly away.
- Warnings (Dangerous areas)
- Caution is required as tree roots and rocks are exposed on some footpaths.
- Usage Guide
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- Entrance fee
- [Recreation Forest itself ]
None - [Wakasugi Rakuen Campsite (including the parking fee)]
Free for 3 hours; 500 yen for 9 hours; 1,000 yen for 18 hours; 500 yen for every additional 12 hours - Operating hours and seasons
- Accessible 24 hours a day, 365 days a year
- No staffed facility in the Sasaguri Town part of the forest
- (a multipurpose toilet is available)
- Accommodation options
- 12 Japanese inns in Sasaguri Town
Wakasugi Rakuen Campsite
- Facility
- Toilets and drinking fountains (Includes surrounding area) 1 location Toilet (accessible) 1 location Walking trail (Includes surrounding area) Parking lot (Includes surrounding area) Vending machine (Includes surrounding area) Shop (Includes surrounding area) Restaurant (Outside the forest) Campsite and/or cabins (Includes surrounding area) 1 location Accommodation facilities (Hotels/Japanese inns) (Outside the forest) Hot Spring (Outside the forest) (Payment required)
- Map
- Location
- Sasaguri Town / Sue Town, Kasuya County, Fukuoka Prefecture
- Access
(Distances and times are provided as a guide only) -
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Parking lot capacity / parking charges- [Wakasugi Rakuen Campsite]
Paid parking for about 20 vehicles (free for 3 hours; 500 yen for 9 hours; 1,000 yen for 18 hours; 500 yen for every additional 12 hours)
- [Wakasugi Rakuen Campsite]
- Nearby tourism facilities
- ・"Wakasugi Okunoin Temple," one of the 88 Sasaguri Shikoku pilgrimage sites (20 minutes by car from the Mt. Wakasugi Summit Parking Lot)
- ・Hasami-iwa Rock (1 minute on foot from the summit of Mt. Wakasugi)
- Management office contact details
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Fukuoka District Forest OfficeTEL：092-843-2100
- Information on Other Local Tourist Attractions
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Sasaguri Town Tourism Association [External link]
- Official Tourist Information
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Sasaguri Town Tourism Association [External link]Sasaguri Town [External Link]
- Recreation Forest Management Committee
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- Supporters
- ー
- Other
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