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Chubu-Sangaku NP, Nagano
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Bracken was more than a snack: women and children dug its roots in winter, extracted starch, then traded it for grain or cash. Mixed with buckwheat, the powder became local cakes, noodles, and dumplings.
Cattle helped create Ichinose’s orange-and-white summer scene: they grazed many plants but avoided poisonous azaleas, leaving them among grass and birches. With fewer cattle, other vegetation is now encroaching.
A forest railway once crossed Ichinose, and logging and grazing helped turn woodland into open ground. In 1907, its ranch had 200 cattle and 100 horses—a busy past for today’s quiet meadow.
A 3-season survey recorded 320 plant species from 75 families along Ichinose’s roads and paths alone—not across the whole meadow. Even a short walk passes through an unusually rich plant list.
After grazing stopped, birch and shrubs began reclaiming Ichinose’s grassland. Local residents and park staff now cut it back together; university students have even joined the hands-on restoration.
Birch cut during meadow restoration has found a second life at Ichinose’s KURUMu café: its leaves have been distilled or dried for drinks and cakes. Conservation cuttings became local ingredients.
In April and May, a large skunk-cabbage colony blooms among wet alder trees—not just in open grass. Matsumoto designated this colony and Ichinose’s azalea community a municipal Special Scenic Place in 2007.
The name Dojō Pond is literal: the small pond was named for the loaches living in it. Ichinose’s trail guide even notes them in its description.
