Hinohara- Ridge Trails as a Way of Life - Dive in Tokyo

Today on Dive in Tokyo, we visit the village of Hinohara. This village is so small that it doesn't even have a convenience store or a train station. It's quite a contrast compared to the rest of Tokyo, right? Hinohara is Tokyo's only mainland village. Home to about 2,000 residents, forests make up over 90% of its land area. Out here in these parts, age-old mountain culture has endured. A tradition of charcoal making over 500 years old. People who are working to preserve the way of life of mountain dwellers. Join us as we explore Hinohara and discover what stories the local trails have to tell. Hinohara is located on the edge of Tokyo. From the city center, it's an hour and 30-minute train ride followed by a 20-minute bus ride. A mountain ridge roughly 1,000 meters above sea level runs through the middle of the village, which borders both Yamanashi and Kanagawa prefectures. Like, I lived in Tokyo for 10 years, but I didn't know there was actually a small village that still belonged to Tokyo and that had these kind of beautiful mountains. Look at it. Jani Olsson is an actor originally from Sweden. Having loved nature since she was a child, she also writes about the outdoors. Kato Makoto is involved in the study and preservation of historical buildings and ruins that remain in the village. We start along the main road in front of the village office. Bansho means guard station or checkpoint. This one was given the name kuchidome or mouth stop because the gate was at the entrance to the village. Centuries ago, the road in front of the village office was a key route that connected the capital of Edo to neighboring Yamanashi prefecture. Here's an official travel permit issued during the Edo period. It includes detailed information about the destination and purpose of travel. Past the guard station lies a river valley surrounded by mountains. Hinohara castle was built roughly 600 years ago, taking advantage of the mountainous terrain. It was a key defensive stronghold for repelling enemy invasions. The castle is at an elevation of about 450 meters. It's a 20-minute hike up from the base of the mountain. Hinohara castle was not designed to accommodate a large garrison. Except for a few sentries, soldiers typically lived at the base of the mountain, on standby in case they needed to rush into action. We've reached the highest point of the old castle. We walk along the ridge to a spot where fortifications were strategically positioned. There are three fortifications here. The enemy may be coming from this direction. So you dug here as well? Yes, I dug here to block the enemy. Don't you think it's hard to attack from this direction? The road is really bad. The trenches were carved deep into the ridge, indicating that the castle was designed to ward off attacks from enemies advancing along this route. The ridge trail is shown on this old map of Hinohara. It runs along the Sengen Ridge, which stretches east to west right through the village center. While there were also river paths, the ridge route was once the main passage. The ridge extends into neighboring Yamanashi prefecture. Hatano Tomonori is a mountain guide who knows the local terrain like the back of his hand. What is this? This is the Wato-gan. It's a horse. It's built for safety. It's built to provide food. Sometimes horses die of illness. Sometimes they fall and die. The horse-headed Kannonborisatva is the guardian deity of horses. It was enshrined here to pray for their safety and to serve as a memorial for those that died. The presence of this statue is a sign that many people and horses once traveled this trail. After hiking for 45 minutes, we arrive at a pass. Mr Ozake? Yes, I've been walking with Mr Ozake. I've been walking along the ridge. This is the Nogogiri-one. The Nogogiri-mountain. Can you walk all the way? Yes, you can. All the way to the pass? Yes, all the way to the pass. You can go this way. Not this way? I see. Is this the pass? Yes, this is the pass. This is the pass. We've to venture deeper along the Sengen Ridge Trail. This house originally served as a rest stop for pack horse drivers and their horses. Kinohara Village contained a forest directly managed by the Edo Shogunate, and officials would come deep into these mountains on inspection tours. Kinohara is surrounded by mountainous terrain, transporting something as heavy and bulky as timber along these paths was no easy task. So most made their living from charcoal, which was easier to carry. At one time, this ridge trail was well-trodden by charcoal makers coming and going. Deep within the forest of Kinohara, one man is working to pass on the local tradition of charcoal making, which has been practiced since the 15th century. His name is Otani Shohei. Otani makes charcoal out of Konara oak. He packs roughly 80 logs vertically into a kiln. Each is about 130 centimeters long and weighs 1.5 kilograms. Once the kiln is loaded, it's time to heat the logs up. The fire is allowed to grow for about three hours. The charcoal starts to grow, and it goes all the way to the far side of the kiln. Otani monitors the forest conditions, relying on his many years of experience to gauge what's going on inside the kiln by the amount of smoke. Once all the wood is engulfed in flames, it's time to seal the entrance to restrict the oxygen supply. Maintaining a slow, controlled burn, he creates the conditions necessary for turning the wood into carbon rather than ash. 5 a.m. the next morning. As the carbonization process nears completion, he reintroduces oxygen. This rapidly raises the temperature inside, causing the charcoal to harden. Good morning! Please come in. Nice to meet you, I'm Yumi. Come on in. Time to get to work. You take it off, right? I've never seen anything like this before. The charcoal must be removed quickly before it burns to ashes. It's a race against time. Go ahead and do it. Seriously? It's not easy. That's the hardest part. Around here? You have to gather it. It's getting smaller and smaller. It's a long process to get the charcoal out. This is hard. It's getting smaller and smaller. I'm taking it out. The retrieved charcoal is covered with dirt mixed with ash to cool it down. If you don't do this, you don't know how hard it is. It's a long process. It's not done yet. It's done. I'm 85 years old this year. 85? Yes. It's not easy. It's really hard. Ordinary people can't do it. I can do it in 30 minutes. Charcoal made in Hinohara is called shirozumi, or white charcoal, because of its distinct appearance. It's long-lasting and produces minimal smoke and odor, qualities that made it popular among the Edo townspeople. It's sad that this culture is about to disappear. Yes, it is. If we don't do anything about it, the shirozumi culture will disappear. Otani hopes that someone will come along to carry on this charcoal-making tradition. Next, we head north of the Sengen Ridge to another ridge, where an old house offers a window into a traditional way of life. This monorail will take us up to the house on the ridge. The property is jointly managed by residents of Fujikura Hamlet, including Koizumi Tamiyuki and Funaki Terue, who were both born and raised here. Situated at an elevation of 750 meters, it may seem out of the way, but back in the days when the ridge trails were a part of life here, it was actually quite livable. The roof is amazing. It's like a straw. This is the Kobayashi family residence, built in the first half of the 18th century. The Kobayashi's made their living as charcoal makers. They grew food on the mountainside and lived largely off the land. As a testament to traditional mountain living, the house was designated a National Important Cultural Property in 1978. The Kobayashi family continued to live here for 20 years after that. Koizumi and Funaki come here three times a week. There's one thing they do every time without fail. They light the hearth. Sending smoke from a hearth through the thatch helps protect the roof from insects and mold growth, as well as rotting. Time for some special snacks made with local ingredients. It's simple, but there's a lot of umami from the miso. It's delicious. This is a snack for 10 o'clock or 3 o'clock. That's why we work so hard. If you eat this, you can work hard in the field. When people lived in this house, was it much better than other houses? Most of the houses were like this. Most of them? We got the ingredients from the mountains. If you look at the top of the tree, it's a natural curve. It's a natural curve, so it can withstand a lot of force. One of the distinctive features of the Kobayashi residence is that it's constructed by joining pieces of wood together without the use of nails. Now that you mention it, it reminds me of my old life. It's a coexistence with nature. You can live without money. It was self-sustaining. A fleeting glimpse of everyday life up along the mountain range. We descend the mountain using a trail that Hamlet residents continue to use to this day. I can't believe the kids in the past walked this way to school. It's actually a bit dangerous. There's the old school! Partway down is a former elementary school. Kawakami Reiko heads an NPO. The team commutes to Hinohara and is working to preserve the mountain culture that remains in the village. This elementary school was in operation until 1986. We're the ones who make the food. It's almost time to harvest, so we dry it. Have you seen this before? No, I haven't. This is called Takakibi or Koryan. There are many names. This is called Awa. Awa? It's called Awa? Yes, it's called Awa. In the Meiji and Edo periods, people ate a lot of this. Because it's a mountain, you can't make rice. So all of this was grown here? We get the seeds every year and grow them. If you don't grow them every year, you can't grow them. How many people do this? About 10 people in total. Kawakami's group has revived the mixed grain rice that was once enjoyed by the villagers. This lunch is packed with the flavors of the Fujikura hamlet. Rice balls with foxtail millet and sorghum, served with assorted vegetables harvested in Hinohara. These dessert dumplings were also made using millet they grew themselves. It's good. It's delicate and a little sweet. What did you get hooked on in Hinohara? It's really hard. I'm surprised when I hear it. When I go there and do activities, I get to know more and more. It's really interesting. Every time I come here, I learn something new. If I only seek convenience, I feel like I'm letting go of all human power. I want to make convenience convenient for everyone. Even if it's inconvenient, it's better to do it yourself. It's good. I feel like I'm protecting my old life here. I'm enjoying it myself. Every fall in Fujikura, the local guardian shrine holds a festival. One of the highlights is a traditional lion dance, performed to pray for a bountiful harvest of grains. Today is the day. It's going to be fun. Really? I'm really looking forward to it. It's a dance of three lions. This traditional dance originated in the town of Okutama to the north and made its way along the mountain ridge to this area about 250 years ago. I've never seen any moza here in Japan. It's very unique. You can tell that it has been done here for a very, very long, long time. The Tokyo metropolis has undergone dramatic changes over time. What has been gained and what has been lost? Hinohara Village asks us to slow down and reflect. Who knew there's a place in Tokyo where untouched nature still exists? But here in Hinohara Village, nature reaches out as far as your eye can see. Time flows really slow here, and wherever you go, you can catch glimpses of Hinohara's rich history. I have a feeling that there's still a lot to discover here, so I think I just have to come here again.