Characteristics of the new developments

In the areas where measures were possible, cooperation between local municipalities and citizens' groups progressed, with the user becoming more active in some situations. Some case examples are now provided.

The first case involves local municipalities valuing NF for the purpose of community building. In the Poroto Forest Park in Shiraoi town, Hokkaido, following the introduction of a project to renew traditional indigenous people’s (the Ainu) living spaces in the 2000s, efforts were made to use resources within local municipalities, such as the training of nature guides, forest development to support Ainu culture and the implementation of environmental education programmes that incorporated the study of Ainu culture. This encouraged the local people to acknowledge NF as local resources and, in 2012, a partnership council was developed. Nature guide organizations led by citizens and the Ainu Museum joined in this partnership council, along with the town-affiliated organizations and, through user surveys, a new direction for the use of Poroto Forest Park was developed.

The second example highlights a case in which the activities of citizen groups that enjoy forestry activities are actively accepted. Minoh Forest Park in Minoh City, Osaka Prefecture, is familiar to many local people as it is a green space near an urban area, with about 2.6 million annual visits. In the 2000s, in parts of this park, volunteer forestry activities were welcomed, allowing new kinds of collaboration in forest management and making the management system more people-centred. Currently, nine citizens’ groups are working together, using their expertise to provide environmental education opportunities for children, while installing management and operation programmes that incorporate biodiversity and landscape conservation.

The third case provides an example of efforts associated with the creation of stay-type tourism that utilizes so-called ‘forest therapy’. Forest therapy takes forest bathing one step further to scientifically elucidate the physiological effects of forests, and utilizes the findings to improve mental and physical health. Along with the changes in the medical system of Japan from being

Transition of forest tourism policies 75 disease to health oriented (i.e., a shift in emphasis from disease treatment to prevention), studies on the physiological activation function of forests were gradually conducted in the early 2000s. In 2006, a certification system began. The main theme was recuperation which was facilitated by long-term stays in health resorts, the use of local food, and the creation of new jobs such as medical staff. Forests are garnering attention as the core for the stay-type tourism that comprehensively utilizes local resources. These points are valued in the Reform Measures as well, and NF actively provide the field space.

In the Akasawa Forest Park in Agematsu town, Nagano Prefecture, a forest therapy programme was introduced in 2005. The council, consisting of the municipality, medical staff, tourism staff and a group of local residents, was established in 2005. The council offered health consultation tours in cooperation with medical organizations, weekly physician-led tours of forest park facilities, three times a week placement of resident nurses and public health nurses, and tours accompanied by instructors. This programme catered to tourists while also valuing medical measures. Therefore, health consultation in recreation facilities became available for local residents. The physician-led tours of the recreation forest facilities included a tour of backcountry settlements, thereby supplementing the medical care in these mountain settlements. With these efforts, repeat visitors and overnight guests gradually increased and, furthermore, through therapy guide training projects, the number of residents involved in forest park increased, hence enhancing cooperation with local residents.

A fourth example illustrates the use of the area outside of the existing forest parks. Instead of establishing specific areas and facilities, maintenance roads and forest roads that were originally used for timber production and dam management were restored within the NF for use as recreation trails. Shin-etsu trail, located along the border of Nagano and Niigata Prefectures, is an 80 km-long trail that was opened in 2008. The majority of the route through the mountains is within NF boundaries. From around 2000, the trail was conceptualized because of the decline in the ski industry and the transition to green tourism. A feasibility study was conducted with nine surrounding municipalities and, in 2003, the NPO Shin-etsu Trail Club was established to maintain trails, perform natural environment surveys, conduct guided tours and provide information for users. Trail maintenance was performed mainly by local residents, and many volunteers from both within and outside of the prefecture participate. Nowadays, trail maintenance work by volunteers is undertaken more than 20 times a year.

In addition to such efforts, in the project-type cooperation that has been implemented on a trial basis since the mid-2000s, tourism is considered to be a part of sustainable area development. In the AK.AYA Project in Minakami town, Gunma Prefecture, visitors are able to enjoy nature through engaging in educational activities such as water resource and forest conservation, joining a nature observation club and undertaking biological surveys. In addition, activities that aim to build a conservation/management/utilization system ofthe natural environment through sustainable use, and projects that restore old roads for use as trails for guided tours, are being implemented. To restore biodiversity in the target areas, anyone who agrees with the goal of the project can participate. Currently, about 50 people have registered, many of whom live outside of the prefecture. Activities including monitoring and surveying animals and plants or maintaining boardwalks and forests are performed once a month over a two-day and one-night period.