Tokyo Bay's Hidden Hiking Oasis Built on a Landfill
At the end of March, an approximately 40-meter-high artificial hill in Tokyo Bay officially opened to the public. When people think of hiking in Tokyo, the mountainous Tama region — with popular spots like Mount Takao and Mount Kumotori — usually comes to mind.
But now, a new option offers a lighter, more accessible outdoor experience. This urban "mountain," visible from places like Odaiba and Tokyo Big Sight, introduces a refreshing green space in the heart of the city.
As a reporter with a passion for the outdoors, I was eager to visit the new hill at Umi-no-Mori Park (Sea Forest Park). For years, I had noticed the lush green forest from the Tokyo waterfront. I always wondered when the site — clearly under development, with visible land work and construction vehicles — would finally open.
On a clear April holiday, I set out from the Odaiba area on my motorbike. There were no signs pointing to the park, but I had a general sense of the direction. My route was interrupted by a waterway at Akatsuki Pier Park, which forced me to backtrack. After passing through an undersea tunnel, I spotted a sign for the Sea Forest Waterway and soon arrived at the park. From the central entrance, stairs extend straight up to the summit. (©Sankei by Shigeki Harada)
Because the park had just opened, parking was hassle-free. On holidays, the fee is ¥1,000 (about $7 USD) per car. To my delight, motorcycles parked for free.
I made my way to the summit by climbing stairs that cut through the trees. Many of the trees had small birdhouses, apparently crafted by children. That day, I saw crows and black kites. According to park materials, other species like shrikes and skylarks also inhabit the area.
Remarkably, this tranquil space was once known as "Trash Hill." It was created from 12.3 million tons of waste and construction debris deposited between 1973 and 1987.
In 2005, then-Governor Shintaro Ishihara announced a vision to transform the site into a green sanctuary for people, plants, and animals.
Later, the area hosted the cross-country segment of the equestrian competition during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. It became one of the event's lasting legacy sites — a symbol of renewal shaped from the burdens of the past.
Covering about 60 hectares, Sea Forest Park is larger than both Yoyogi Park (approximately 54 hectares) and Ueno Park. Around 240,000 trees from about 50 species have been planted. These include Japanese beech, Japanese bay tree, Japanese black pine, Oshima cherry, camellia, and mulberry.
The saplings were grown through collaboration between local residents and private companies. The park also features ponds and grasslands, designed to support a diverse and thriving ecosystem.
During the 1996 National Tree Planting Festival, Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko (then Emperor and Empress) planted trees here. At the 2018 National Tree Growing Festival, Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako (then Crown Prince and Princess) returned to care for those trees. This further connected the space to Japan's natural and cultural heritage.
While tents and campfires are not permitted, visitors can enjoy picnics at designated tables and chairs in open plazas. Ball games and kite flying are welcome. Despite its size, the park remains uncrowded, offering a rare sense of openness not often found in central Tokyo. A small gorge has also been created. (©Sankei photo by Shigeki Harada)
The park features two small peaks — West Hill and East Hill — each rising 42 meters above ground level. Built according to Arakawa River flood standards (roughly 41 meters above sea level), these artificial hills are higher than Tokyo's tallest natural peak in the city center, Atago-yama (26 meters in Minato Ward). They are slightly shorter than Shinjuku's artificial Hakone-yama (about 45 meters).
The summits offer panoramic views of Shinagawa, Shinkiba, and even the Boso Peninsula on clear days. The light trails throughout the park allow for easy hiking or jogging. Many follow the same slopes used during the Olympic equestrian events.
Sea Forest Park is perfect for a laid-back day outdoors. Bringing your own food and drinks is encouraged, and the open space makes it an ideal place to unwind.
Access to the park is currently car-centric. Shuttle buses run from Tokyo Teleport Station (Rinkai Line) and JR Shinkiba Station, though with limited capacity. A pier at the site is also used during large events. The Tokyo Metropolitan Marine Park Division is considering introducing regular boat services depending on future demand.
Author: Shigeki Harada, The Sankei Shimbun
このページを 日本語 で読む
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Ottawa Citizen
a day ago
- Ottawa Citizen
‘Full-circle moment': Sault's Domenic Nicoletta brings Italian heritage to Olympic stage
Article content When Domenic Nicoletta boards a plane for Milan in February 2026, he won't just be heading to his first Olympic Winter Games as an athletic therapist with Team Canada. He'll be returning to the country his parents once left behind — this time, as part of hockey's most prestigious delegation. Article content 'It's a little bit of a dream,' said Nicoletta, the longtime Ottawa Senators athletic therapist. 'I couldn't have asked for a better location, or an almost full-circle moment.' Article content Article content Though the Olympics will be hosted in northern Italy, Nicoletta's roots are further south in Calabria, where both his parents were born before immigrating to Canada. His father, John, found work at Algoma Steel in Sault Ste. Marie, where he later met his wife, Marie, who worked as a school administrator. Article content Article content Between his commitments with the Senators, Nicoletta still tries to make it back to the Sault at least once a year, and there's always one stop he never misses to 'compare notes.' Article content 'I try to make it back at least once a year to check on my dad's garden,' he said, laughing. 'To me, it's a peace of mind,' said John. 'I go there and relax.' Article content That sense of connection — to land, to tradition, to family — will travel with Nicoletta to Italy in the winter. The Olympics represent more than a career milestone, he said. They're a rare opportunity to share his heritage with his wife, Jennifer, and their children, Luca, 15, and Ella, 12. Article content Article content 'It's a great moment for me,' he said. 'My daughter's maybe the most excited, she's wanted me to take her to Italy here for a few years, so it worked out perfectly.' Article content Nicoletta has worked several world championships for Hockey Canada since 2019, and he's made the most of the chance to bring family along. In 2022, his children joined him in Finland, and two years later, his mother accompanied him at the 2024 World Championship in Prague. Article content 'One of the reasons I can never say no to (Hockey Canada) is because of how the family is treated,' he said. 'I can't wait to see their reactions again, and their interactions with the international fans, the cheering.' Article content Long before Nicoletta was standing on the Team Canada bench, his path began with human kinetics at the University of Ottawa. He grew up playing soccer, but it wasn't until a guest lecture from the Ottawa Rough Riders' athletic therapist that he became interested in sport medicine.
Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Uruguay confronts a powerful new threat to its palm trees: A tiny red bug
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — Palm trees in Uruguay are more than just plants, they are icons, much like olive groves for Greeks or cherry blossoms for the Japanese. The treasured trees lining one of the world's longest sidewalks through Montevideo, Uruguay's capital, and adorn the swanky Atlantic beach resorts of Punta del Este have recently come under ruthless attack. Across the small South American country, palm trees are falling prey to a fierce enemy measuring just 5 centimetres (2 inches) in length: The red palm weevil. First the elegant fronds droop. Then the tell-tale holes appear in the trunk. Soon enough, the tree is tilting toward collapse. The weevil has devoured thousands of Uruguay's palm trees since its unexplained arrival from Southeast Asia in 2022. But authorities are only now waking up to the threat as the landscape of municipalities transforms and fears grow that the country's beloved palms could be wiped out. 'We are late in addressing this,' Estela Delgado, the national director of biodiversity at Uruguay's Ministry of Environment, acknowledged last month. 'But we are doing so with great commitment and seriousness.' The insect and its devastating impact can be found in 60 countries around the world but nowhere else in South America. Authorities first detected it in the town of Canelones, bordering Montevideo, where the insect killed more than 2,000 palm trees in less than a month. Weevils quietly wreak destruction by boring through the open scars of pruned palms and laying hundreds of eggs inside. When larvae hatch, they tunnel through trunks and eat up the trees' internal tissue. Death strikes within weeks. The Uruguayan government set up a task force to combat the plague in March. In May, Environment Minister Edgardo Ortuño declared the fight against the red palm weevil 'a national priority.' As of this year, the red bug has proliferated in eight of the country's 19 regions, including Montevideo. Half of the capital's 19,000 palm trees have been infected, estimates Gerardo Grinvald, director of pest control company Equitec, which helps authorities combat the bug. The insect first attacks decorative Canary palms, the tree in so many pictures of Uruguay's sunny landscape, before moving onto its date palms. 'It's an invisible pest,' Grinvald said, explaining the challenge of identifying an infestation when it starts. As a result, landowners fail to isolate and quarantine their trees, fueling the weevil's crawl across the country. The Montevideo municipality this year earmarked $70,000 for chemical pesticide sprays and insecticide injections meant to kill bugs inside infested trunks, with the goal of saving some 850 trees in the city's prominent Parque Rodó, a scenic urban park along the coast. Wednesdays Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture. In the southeast corner of Uruguay, home to Punta del Este, a beachy, palm-fringed haven for jet-set elites from all over the world, authorities recently allocated $625,000 for efforts to dispose of infected trees and lure weevils away from affected areas with pheromone traps and other methods. 'We are losing our palm trees,' lamented Montevideo resident Rafael dos Santos as he walked his dog in Parque Rodó. 'They are historic in Uruguay, and a part of us.' As the weevil's march continues unabated, authorities now fear native trees of Uruguay's UNESCO biosphere reserve bordering Brazil will fall victim next, potentially facilitating the spread of the parasite across an unprepared continent. ___ Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at
National Post
3 days ago
- National Post
Onus on Olympians to keep drug testers up to date under 'whereabouts' rules
A chunk of an Olympic or Paralympic athlete's life is spent telling drug testers where they will be every day and every night. Article content Failure to provide that information can damage an athlete's eligibility to compete, even if they've never taken a banned substance. Article content Article content Penny Oleksiak won't be on Canada's swimming team at the world championship starting Saturday in Singapore after running afoul of 'whereabouts' requirements. Article content From staying at a friend's house overnight in the off-season to training in remote mountains, athletes must be found for testing to avoid sanctions. Article content The onus is on athletes to submit that information through the web-based Anti-Doping Administration and Management System (ADAMS) on a computer or on a mobile-phone app. Article content Athletes must provide, on a quarterly basis, their addresses (home, hotel or otherwise) and every day must have an overnight accommodation entry. Article content Also required is contact info, training and competition schedules and locations, time and location of school, work or medical appointments, and a 60-minute window each day that they're available for testing. Article content If a grocery run or spontaneous decision to go to a movie conflicts with the 60-minute window an athlete offers as available for testing, ADAMS must be updated beforehand to provide an alternative hour. Article content But athletes can also be tested at any time and any place with no advance notice. Whereabouts information must be sufficiently detailed so they can be found for testing. Article content Article content Article content Whereabouts and ADAMS are constants in an elite athlete's life. Article content 'It is part of our job,' said Canadian race walker and Olympic medallist Evan Dunfee. 'It is something that we sign up for.' Article content He recalled a 2017 vacation in Iceland where he was travelling in a recreational vehicle. Article content 'We didn't know where we were going to be stopping each night,' Dunfee recalled. 'We were just going to drive until we found somewhere nice and set up shop.' Article content That required a consultation with the Canadian Centre For Ethics in Sport. Article content 'I actually had to chat with CCES beforehand and say, 'Hey, how do I follow the rules in this situation?' They said, 'to the best of your ability, update it as best you can.' I think I ended up putting in my latitude and longitude,' Dunfee said.
