Official

First of all, what you think of Hinohara Village in Chuo-ku is "Chuo-ku Forest".
Hinohara Village has two "Chuo-ku Forests" in the Kazuma and Nango districts, and forest conservation activities that lead to the next generation are being carried out. .

Going back in February 2005, the Kyoto Protocol came into effect, which would have a significant impact on the environmental initiatives of developed countries.
Along with that, Chuo-ku started the “Chuo-ku Forest” project in October of the following year to work on preventing global warming from taking a “wide-area perspective” that is not bound by the area.

(Signboard of Chuo-ku no Mori in the Kazuma area)

Normally, forests play an important role as habitats and habitats for living organisms, water sources, flood prevention, and measures against global warming (carbon dioxide absorption).
The area where untouched nature remains may look attractive to people living in the city.
However, if proper management such as thinning is not performed, the deforestation of the forest will progress and its survival will be threatened....
In order to avoid such a situation, Chuo-ku is preserving desirable forests in this forest.

There is a course in this forest (Kazuma area) that can be used for hiking, etc., so you can walk without hesitation.
Because the forest occupies 93% of the area, the altitude is relatively high, and climbing uses a little physical strength....
However, in the forest, you can see seasonal flowers and birds that you cannot easily see in the city.
You can enjoy forgetting the difficulty of climbing*.
And along the way, you can see the forest properly managed by performing thinning, pruning, undergrowth, etc. introduced earlier.

So, what will happen to the trees that have been cut as appropriate?...
The whereabouts were Chuo-ku!

Some of the bus stops of the Edo bus that you use casually and the benches of parks in the city use thinned wood from this forest.
For example, the signboards, benches, and planters near the bus stop of the Edo Bus near the Chuo-ku government office shown in the photo below use thinned wood from Chuo-ku no Mori ^^

It's easy to overlook if you don't look consciously, but thinned wood was surprisingly close to you!

A little more up the mountain from Chuo-ku Forest, there is the Tomin no Mori, a facility where you can learn about forests and experience unique to forests.
There are restaurants and rest rooms, so many people stop by during cycling.
And here is "Tochino Minoru", the restaurant closest to the sky in Tokyo (1,043m above sea level).

When I had lunch here, I happened to find a valuable thing about Chuo-ku.
That is the octagonal clock of Seikosha (Seiko Holdings), which was installed and introduced as "Clocks older than 100 years old 5".
Seikosha was founded in 1892 as the watch manufacturing department of Hattori Clock Store, started production of domestic watches, and later succeeded in manufacturing the first domestic watch!
(At the link above, you can see the details of the clock and commentary on the founder of the Hattori Clock Store.)

At this restaurant, we have set up a spring watch to mark the important flow of every encounter in once-in-a-lifetime encounter.
Today, good old things are being forgotten due to advances in technology....The cumbersome spring watch with the cumbersome screws is also no exception.
However, through the action of winding the screws, I heard that we cannot overlook the appeal that human life energy is directly the power of watches, and I am convinced.

According to the restaurant, some of the tourist associations in Hinohara Village are collecting old watches, and they sometimes exchange them with different models.
That's why once-in-a-lifetime encounter came across an old octagonal clock at Seikosha!
It may have been related to something ^^*
The sound of engraving time and the sound of telling the time without hesitation reminded me of the importance of time.

And what comes to mind when it comes to Seiko Holdings, which is related to the manufacturer of this old watch, is the Wako Clock Tower, a landmark in Ginza that attracts attention both day and night!
The first clock tower was completed by Hattori Clock Store in 1894.
As mentioned above, Seikosha is the watch manufacturing department of the watch store, but in 1947 Wako was established as the retail department of the watch store.
The old clock installed in "Tochino Minoru" is presumed to be manufactured in the mid-1930s, and it can be said that it is one of the valuable clocks.

In Hinohara Village, I was able to meet rich nature, traditional culture, a long history dating back to the Jomon period, and local people with very good personality.
It is also an area with many waterfalls, so it's a perfect destination for hot summers.

In addition, at the Kobayashiya Residence, a mountain old folk house designated as an Important Cultural Property, we were able to hear stories from descendants of Kobayashiya, including stories about charcoal grilling in Hinohara Village for a long time.
The monorail (free, reservation required) that extends from 600m above sea level (monorail platform) to 750m (house) is about 45 degrees inclination!
If you're lucky, you can see antelope, a special natural monument, in the forest along the way.♪

Hinohara Village is a little far from the city center, but it is a place full of attractions and attractions like this.
When you visit, why not check out "Chuo-ku Forest" and "Seikosha's octagonal clock" together? ^^
On the other hand, when you come to Chuo-ku, please look for benches made from thinned wood from the Chuo-ku Forest*.