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Joshin’etsukogen NP, Gunma
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In 2026, winter-visiting Daurian redstarts nested at 2 spots inside Kazawa Information Center—a surprising houseguest for a bird usually seen in the cold season. Staff later spotted a likely fledgling nearby.
At the center’s small wetland, montane brown frog eggs appear as snow melts. One gelatinous clump can hold about 1,000 eggs and swell to roughly 20 cm—far larger than the 4–7 cm adult frog.
Steel reinforcing bars, not conventional cables, suspend the center’s approach bridge. Their weight creates its wave-shaped sag and gentle sway; the surrounding trail-and-center design earned a 2009 JSCE Design Prize.
At a nearby Kazawa Onsen inn, snowbound university climbers created “Yuki-yama Sanka” in 1927, fitting Japanese lyrics to “Oh My Darling, Clementine.” Tsumagoi still plays it as the daily noon chime.
At nearby Yunomaru Highland, roughly 600,000 azaleas brighten an old pasture. Cattle and horses avoid the poisonous plants, letting them spread; Kazawa Center’s seasonal walks explain this surprising human-and-nature partnership.
In the center’s wildflower garden, Shira-higesō (“white-beard flower”) has 5 petals fringed like tiny whiskers. This wetland plant is listed as Endangered IB in Gunma Prefecture, and staff note that deer readily browse it.
Each spring, staff hand-mark paths through Kazawa’s wildflower garden, setting posts and rope beside boardwalks. It takes days or weeks, protecting fragile plants from footsteps as deer browsing also reduces the flowers.
The center’s nature-minded design uses larch glulam, eco-insulation and solar-heated water. A barrier-free route links its exhibits and rest room to the swaying bridge—so the building itself carries the outdoor lesson.
