What are designated important Satochi and Satoyama?
Conserbation activities
The Tozaka Autonomous Association sees natural environmental conservation activities as a part of community building.
Activities to claim the various resources in the area and use them in community building are called the ‘Tozaka Gakko Educational Program: Creating Human Resources for 100 Years in the Future’ and comprise various types of activities.
- Community activities and events
Various events are held each season in the Satochi and Satoyama areas.
How about coming to the events and actually seeing the natural environment of important Satochi and Satoyama and their plants and animals for yourself?
In addition to environmental education for elementary school children (investigating the wildlife in the rivers) and events to observe Hotaria parvula, Luciola cruciata, and other species, activities to preserve Eranthis pinnatifida habitats are carried out centered around the Tozaka Autonomous Association as material for regional development and events are held, including the Setsubunso Festival held around the time the Eranthis pinnatifida are in bloom (Feb to March).
The Imade Seseragi Park actively promotes tourism, offering all types of events where you can get food like handmade soba noodles, have fun in the river, or enjoy the evening cool of the streams.
The Tozaka Forest Development Council co-hosts an eco-tourism event with Asahi Beer called Tozaka Asahi Forest Development to give people from the cities a chance to experience the forest conservation activities in the area (such as tree pruning and trimming). With these events that enable interaction between the locals and residents of the cities and other activities, the forest is used as a place to come in contact with the nature of the Tozaka forest.
The Tozaka Autonomous Association will continue to plan various events and eco-tourism activities.
Tozaka Setsubunso (Eranthis Pinnatifida) Festival
- This event in which the wildlife habitat is opened to the public is timed for the blooming of Eranthis pinnatifida that heralds the coming of spring in the lush natural Tozaka area. You can see up close Eranthis pinnatifida that is a rare species, ranked C in the Hyogo Prefecture Red Data Book.
- When：Late February (wildlife habitat is open from mid-February to early March)
Where：Near 1220 Tozaka, Aogaki-cho, Tamba City
Tozaka Asahi Forest Development
- This event is co-hosted by the Tozaka Forest Development Council and Asahi Beer. Residents in the Tozaka area and employees from the Asahi Beer group and their families all work together to prune and trim the protected forests and create paths for enjoying the forest as well as other types of forest conservation activities.
- When：Mid-May
Where：The forest upstream of the Imade River and Imade Seseragi Park
Firefly Observation Meeting
- The Imade Seseragi Park area is home to brightly luminescent Luciola cruciata fireflies that are 15 mm long and live in the river. The Imade Kumano Shrine area is home to Hotaria parvula fireflies that live in the forest and are characterized by flashing at short intervals. This area is known as a valuable place where you can see many different types of fireflies together.
- When：Late June
Where：Around Imade Seseragi Park and Imade Kumano Shrine
Seseragi Yusuzumi
- At the Seseragi Yusuzumi event held in Imade Shinsui Park, a river fun village is set up for parents to take their children to play in the river and you can enjoy barbecues and street stalls. There is also a performance at sunset during which candles are lit near the river, enveloping the brook and area in a mystical glow.
- When：Mid-August
Where： Imade Seseragi Park
River Fun Village
- During this summer vacation-only event that is popular with families, you can enjoy catching Biwa trout in Imade Shinsui Park or barbecues in the hands-on space. Enjoy a summer moment while listening to the babbling brook.
- When：Weekends during summer holidays until August 31 (every day during the Obon festival from August 12 to 16)
Where：Imade Seseragi Park
Imade Kumano Shrine Hadaka Festival
- The history of Kumano Shrine begins in the days of Emperor Kameyama (1259 to 1274) when the spirit from the main Kumano Shrine in Wakayama Prefecture was welcomed here. The brave Hadaka (Naked) Festival held during the annual autumn festival every year on November 3 is a special autumn event in Tozaka that brings in many visitors.
- When：November 3
Where： Imade Kumano Shrine
Imade New Year’s Festival
- At this event, you can enjoy New Year's Eve soba noodles in Imade Seseragi Park, visit Kumano Shrine for the first shrine visit of the year, and enjoy other distinctive Imade New Year’s events. In the area around Kumano Shrine, you can see bonfires and light-up displays that envelop the area in a mystical glow. (Imade Seseragi Park is open until midnight on December 31)
- When：December 31
Where：Imade Kumano Shrine, Imade Seseragi Park
Imade Seseragi Park
- Imade Seseragi Park plays a role as a base for tourism and community developments in the Tozaka area in Aogaki-cho, Tamba City. At restaurants in this area, you can try handmade soba noodles made with wild yam that is harvested in abundance and have a barbecue in the hands-on space. In summer, Imade Shinsui Park that is set up on the Imade River adjacent to the facility offers river fun, catching Biwa trout, and firefly observation. In autumn, you can enjoy the colored leaves on the surrounding mountains. The area is always full of families enjoying themselves. Various events are also held to take advantage of the rich seasonal natural environment.
- 【Location】1625 Tozaka, Aogaki-cho, TanbaTamba City, Phone: 0795-88-0558
【Hours】11 AM to 4 PM
【Closed】Thursdays (following day when Thursday is a holiday); only open on weekends and holidays from December to the end of February
【Access】About 15-minute drive from the Kitakinki Toyo-O0ka Expressway Aogaki IC
