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Fuji-Hakone-Izu NP, Shizuoka
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During his only recorded Fuji-area tour in 1582, Oda Nobunaga rode across Asagiri, visited nearby Hitoana, and sought sites linked to Yoritomo’s 1193 hunt. He was killed at Honnō-ji later that year.
An Army school for young tank soldiers opened here in 1942, with a training ground on the highland. After the war, settlers used the abandoned school buildings as temporary shelter while opening farms.
Asagiri’s local food brings together milk and spring water: Fuji Milkland makes gelato with fresh highland milk and also serves rainbow trout raised in water from Mount Fuji.
Asagiri means “morning mist,” and the name fits: Fujinomiya says morning and evening fog is especially common here from May through August, when humid air cools over the highland.
In 1946, 15- to 20-year-old pioneers from Nagano arrived to farm. Cold weather and Fuji’s rock-strewn soil made crops so difficult that malnutrition struck; dairy farming eventually transformed the highland.
The route through Asagiri belonged to the old Nakadō Ōkan, linking inland Kai with Suruga’s coast. It carried salt and seafood inland in the Edo period, and served as a military road in earlier times.
Each spring, Fujinomiya and Nebara district deliberately burn about 52 hectares of grassland. The heat warms the soil and helps seeds sprout, supporting both the highland’s grassland habitat and scenery.
Some Asagiri susuki grows 1.5 to 2 meters tall, with slim, supple stems prized for thatched roofs. Since 2012, the local grassland has been designated to help supply roofing materials for cultural-property repairs.
Nearby Odanuki Wetland is a different world from the pastures: more than 125 small pools dot this marsh. Fujinomiya calls it the only lowland wetland on the Shizuoka side of Mount Fuji, and the Environment Ministry lists it as important for wetland plants.
Asagiri JAM volunteers found an unexpected use for festival leftovers: starting in 2008, they composted the event’s paper food dishes and used the compost to grow crops.
