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Obihiro

Located in the center of the Tokachi Plain, Obihiro, which was selected as a regional center level Eco-Model City, has a rich and expansive natural environment. At the same time, with a population of 170,000 and a concentration of urban functions such as medical care, education, culture and information, it is one of the core cities in Hokkaido. Agricultural production centered on upland crops and dairy farms earns nearly 250 billion yen a year in Obihiro and Tokachi, which accounts for one quarter of all production in Hokkaido.

The symbol of urban development in the area is the Obihiro no mori (Obihiro Forest), which extends over a total of 406.5 hectares that the city started to develop some thirty years ago. Aiming for co-existence between city and nature, the Obihiro Forest concept took concrete shape forty years ago in 1969. That was the year when the mayor at the time visited Austria and saw the Wienerwald, an experience that made a deep impression on him. Although fierce debates followed in the city council, in 1971 Obihiro decided to make the creation of Obihiro Forest a centerpiece of town planning against a backdrop of heightened environmental awareness among residents. In the end, it was the start of a new kind of urban development that is conscious of the natural environment.

"The Obihiro Forest concept of returning arable land that had once been virgin forest to its original state after an interval of 100 years, and to encircle urban zones in Obihiro was a magnificent thing to do," says Komatsu Hajime at the Obihiro City Office. "By encircling the urban areas with a forest, the urbanized area is restricted, which makes it possible to prevent the so-called suburban sprawl of unplanned expansion of housing in suburban areas, and we have set a boundary between urban and agricultural areas with Obihiro Forest serving as a place of exchange between the two."

The plans for creating Obihiro Forest divided the whole area into eight forest blocks, each with its own particular features such as the Furusato (hometown), Nature School, Sports, and Recreation Forests. Each block is provided with paths, parking lots, sports facilities, restaurants and other necessary services. However, creating Obihiro Forest to plan would, of course, require enormous spending. In response, local residents began a campaign pushing for the creation of a forest from the standpoint of the residents with local volunteers organizing the "Obihiro Forest Residents Tree Planting Committee," which has sponsored the "Obihiro Forest Tree Planting Festival" in May every year since 1975. Since then, the enthusiasm of local residents for creating the forest has grown from year to year with roughly 6,000 people participating in the tree planting festival at its peak. The number of trees planted has already reached 230,000, and the expectation is that the growing trees will have a significant impact on CO2 reduction. (The tree planting festival was terminated with the thirtieth event in 2004 due to a decrease in sites for holding such a large-scale event). The Obihiro Forest is also used to teach residents about the environment, and four times a year volunteers hold workshops on nature observation and using thinned wood from the forest to make things. In addition to local residents, JICA training participants studying agriculture at Obihiro participated in a workshop on how to use woodcuttings to make Christmas wreaths in November 2008. All sixty participants used saws to thin the trees and experienced the presence of the forest while enjoying themselves making wreaths.

In addition, Obihiro is concentrating its efforts on reducing garbage and developing its resources, including the effective use of agricultural waste matter, by utilizing its rich biomass resources to produce alternative fuels to kerosene from bean stalks and pods, manure and wood pellets. With the cooperation of residents, the city is also carrying out environmental programs such as setting up ninety stations for collecting used tempura oil in the city and using the collected waste oil as fuel to run buses.

Komatsu comments, "In the future, we plan to create an Eco-Town [provisional name] where we will concentrate recycling facilities for processing waste matter in the region, and we will strive to make solar power generation widespread by making use of the long hours of daylight in Obihiro. But first, we aim to reduce CO2 emissions by 30% as our mid-term goal."

In what ways will this town have changed when the Obihiro Forest initiative with its 100-year-long plan is completed? Chances are that it will be unlike any other urban space in Japan, surrounded by the natural beauty and abundance of a forest that is in keeping with the magnificence of Hokkaido.