Numata Town has many attractions that the more you hear about it and the more you visit, the more you will find it fascinating.
The forests that cover 70% of the town's area, the history of the coal mines that once existed, the symbiotic environment with fireflies and the culture of the "Yataka Andon Festival" that is preserved through the efforts of the residents, and the efforts to utilize "snow" for air conditioning and agriculture because it is a region with heavy snowfall: ......

Combining the rich charms of Numata with new ideas, a "nature school" has begun to be built where children and adults alike can play in the forest all year round.

Creating a "Nature School" in Numata Town

The activities that have been held so far include "Stone Camp" to learn and experience the history of Numata Town, and "Craft Camp" for adults to enjoy wood crafts, all of which make Numata Town proud to be a part of!
Numata Town Whole Nature Experience Project [Numata Town, Hokkaido] Facebook

Stone Camp Yoshizumi Coal Mine tour and experience (from Numata Town Marugoto Nature Experience Project [Numata Town, Hokkaido] Facebook)

Horse experience (from Numata Town Marugoto Nature Experience Project [Numata Town, Hokkaido] Facebook)

Craft camp workshop (from the Numata Town Marugoto Nature Experience Project [Numata Town, Hokkaido] Facebook)

A workshop was also held the other day, where both town staff and local residents came together to think about what they would like to realize and do at the "Nature School," and a very exciting picture was created.

Future image of the Nature School (from the Numata Town Whole Nature Experience Project [Numata Town, Hokkaido] Facebook)

Here are some of the wonderful futures that may be realized in the future.

Forest play in Numata Town

Japanese maple sap collection experience

Mr. Kato of Onuma Nagareyama Farm will guide us through the winter forest this time.
Mr. Kato is usually involved in a variety of forest-related activities, from making maple syrup to harvesting mushrooms and wild vegetables, making firewood, and sometimes even teaching Segway riding.

This time, we will be collecting sap from Japanese maples. We will go into the forest to look for Japanese maples.

Numata Town is one of Hokkaido's snowiest areas, and in early March it was still winter.
Instead of buds sprouting, snow was piling up 1.5 to 2 meters high.

If it were summer, we could judge by the shape of the leaves, but it would be difficult to find "Japanese maples" with so few clues...?

Mr. Kato, a forest professional, tells us.

The Japanese maple is characterized by the way its branches split. It has two branches coming out from the same place, and its branch tips are thicker than those of other trees.
Another feature is that the trunk of the tree is covered with many lichens.

Branch tips of the Japanese maple

Lichens on the trunk of the Japanese maple

Once the Japanese maples have been found, the sap is immediately collected.

First, make a hole about 1 cm in diameter and 6 cm deep in the trunk of the tree. Insert a tool for sap collection called a "spile" into the hole, and sap will drip from the hole. A special bucket is placed under it, a lid is placed to prevent dust from entering, and all that is left is to wait!

Drill a hole in the trunk of the maple tree.

Insert a special tool called a "spile" into the drilled hole and fit it in with a hammer.

Put a bucket over the hole to store the dripping sap.

Put the lid on the bucket to prevent dust from entering, and wait for the sap to drip out.

The best time to collect maple sap is during this period when the snow begins to melt, so I was able to witness this rare opportunity.

The sap we collected is used to make maple syrup. When I drank the sap, I found it to be very sweet, with a hint of forest flavor. The sugar content at this point is about 1%.
The standard for maple syrup is a sugar content of 66% or higher. ...... means that only about 30mL of maple syrup can be made from 2L of maple sap!

Yukimachi Sauna Experience

Mr. Haruyama, an employee of Numata Town, gave us a chance to experience the Yukimachi Sauna.
Mr. Haruyama, who usually plans and implements various town activities as an official of Numata Town, and is also making efforts to keep the JR Rumoi Main Line alive, also holds the titles of "Sauna and Spa Professional" and "Finland Sauna Ambassador," which are also titles for a sauna specialist.

I wondered if I would be guided to the Horoshin Onsen. I wondered, but what I was guided to was a "tent sauna" set up outdoors.

Mr. Haruyama, a Numata Town employee and sauna/spa professional

As I mentioned earlier, Numata Town is one of the snowiest areas in Hokkaido, and in early March, it is still winter.
They dig out 1.5~2 meters of snow and set up a sauna stove and a special tent for the sauna, which was born in the extremely cold region of Russia.

The sauna stone on top of the stove is basalt from Numata Town. It has high heat storage properties, making it suitable for saunas, Haruyama says.

Basalt from Numata-cho is used as the sauna stone.

The sauna stone is sprayed with water to raise the temperature of the sauna, and thanks to the sauna professionals, the temperature and humidity are good, and the crackle, crackle, jou, jouwa~ is the best sound ever! The sound is the best sound ever.

Mr. Haruyama sprinkles water on the sauna stones with his handmade ladle.

When your pulse starts to quicken, dive into the snow instead of taking a water bath ......! The charm of Numata's Yukimachi sauna is that you can also
After that, you can take an outdoor air bath. The luxury of looking at the forest and the sky while sitting in an infinity chair...... I felt like I was going to get stuck.

After taking a sauna with Mr. Haruyama, he told us various stories about how to get fit, its benefits, sauna customs in Finland, the home of sauna, and recommended saunas in Japan, which made me enjoy sauna dozens and dozens of times more than before.

Forest Play Supporter" to play around in Numata Town's forests

The experiences in Numata-cho and the vision for the future of the nature school are all very exciting for people.
Domingo editorial staff is not a resident of Numata Town, but after staying in Numata Town, we were inspired by the experience and thought, "I want to be involved in the creation of a nature school! I want to play in the forests of Numata! We hope to play in the forests of Numata!

I am sure that many of you reading this article would also like to visit Numata Town and get involved in this magnificent project.

If so, we have a system called "Mori Asobi Supporter" for you.

As a "Mori Asobi Supporter" (a.k.a. "Mori Suppo"), you will receive information on workshops and events related to the Nature School by e-mail.
You can participate in any of them you want, and you can also offer your opinions on what you would like to do!

Sometimes there are also online-delivered events that you can participate in remotely.
No matter where you live, if you are at all interested in becoming a Mori Supporter, please join us!
By the way, the Domingo editorial staff immediately registered as a Mori Supporter!