Genso no Mori (Fantasy Forest) — Attraction in Tozawa

Not easy to get to if u do not drive a car.. I was headed for Niigata from Mogami , driving along the sea coast. The entrance to the forest is a very sharp tiny turn which can be easily missed. The drive up to the forest is very stoney and pretty dangerous if u are not an experienced driver due to not road rails and very steep drop down treacgerous valleys. It is at least 2 to 3 km up to the forest along that gravel road, but lovely nonetheless. In spring it was cold and windy, so gear up. At the end of the drive was a little area to park a few cars and then u can walk into this magical wonderland. It was just ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL. The "enchanted" area wasnt all that big but is lined wif wood chips for a nice soft padded walk. Well worth all that adrenaline and tension that was created during the drive up, as the forest simply melted all the stress away. Love love love and highly recommend all to visit. U will not find tour buses or noisy crowds there for sure. No buses shud go there and no people shud try to trek up. With a car, the visit took about an hour. Without, it will probably take...

Now if you want to visit the "Forest of Fantasies", you need to be prepared for a long, windy, and narrow forest road with lots of bumps and gravel that might be thrown up against your car. You might also have to back up quite a bit of you come across another cat In exchange you get to visit a first full of ancient cedar trees that convey a solemn atmosphere. Knowing that the trees have been around for hundreds of years is quite impressive. There's a little parking space with room for about 3 cars. I didn't have reception on my mobile phone, and I was also told to be careful of bears and vipers (for the bears, you can bring along a bell, talk to your friends aloud or sing if...

日本にもまだこう言う知られていない名所があるんですね。

一本だけの圧倒的な巨樹も魅力的ではありますが、ここはそこまでの大きさでは無いのですが、それでも＂杉の巨樹＂と呼ぶに相応しい木々達が密集している場所です。まさに＂幻想の森＂と呼ぶに相応しい場所だと思います。

ただ、子供連れやサンデードライバーもしくは普段運転などしないレンタカーの観光客などは行くべき所では無いと思います。

それが星2つの理由です。

まず、行くまでの林道は未舗装でガードレールなし、車一台がスレスレギリギリの一本道が殆どで、安易にすれ違いも出来ません。ブラインドカーブ(進行方向が見えないカーブ)も多いですし、地面が弱い所も所々にありましたからタイヤがハマる事もあるかも知れませんし、路肩から脱輪や最悪転落なんて事もそれこそここでは冗談や脅しで言っている訳では無いと言う事が、ここに行けば分かるかと思います。一度林道に入ると引き返す場所も限られていますし、あと、ここは熊も出ますから、

なにより何かあっても基本的には携帯の電波は繋がりませんので、全て文字通り自己責任で自己解決出来る人間だけが行くべき場所です。

＂幻想の森＂自体はとても良い場所で星5つですが、交通面と＂幻想の森＂自体にも柵などは一切ありませんから小さい子供を少し目を離した隙に神隠しにあっちゃうなんて事があるかも知れませんし、実際に行けばそれは冗談では無いと分かる様な場所です。

多分上記の様な環境下だからこそ、人も少なく、荒らされてる事も無く、この様な魅力的な自然環境が守ら...