Mt. Tomeyama

Tomeyama rises less than 180 meters but carries more ecological weight than most mountains many times its size. Logging here has been banned for over 300 years, for reasons no one fully recorded, and the result is an old-growth forest of beech and oak with individual trees over 300 years old. The beeches show a characteristic whitish tint typical of lower-altitude growth, and their root systems channel rainwater deep into the water table, sustaining the broader Shirakami Sanchi ecosystem. A walking path crosses the mountain, but a local guide is required to enter. The requirement is worth treating seriously: the forest genuinely rewards slow attention.