Vol. 19 No Dig, No Ride

Japan

The town of Morimachi in the Shuchi District of Shizuoka Prefecture is where the Yamaha PAS—the world’s first electrically power-assisted bicycle—was born in 1993, making it the hometown of the eBike. Today, the town still continues to manufacture drive units for eBikes, which have grown markedly more popular around the world since then. In 2022, a collaborative effort between a group of mountain bike enthusiasts and the local Morimachi community bore fruit with the opening of the Million Petal Bike Park in one of its forests, and their work is drawing significant attention from other communities and municipalities across Japan that are similarly searching for ways to make effective use of their forests.

With 67% of its land covered by forests, Japan is one of the most forested countries in the world. Throughout the country, initiatives are underway to not only protect but also effectively utilize this rich natural environment and the resources it provides.

In 2022, the Million Petal Bike Park was opened in Morimachi. One of the forests in the town’s jurisdiction that had gone unused for quite some time was transformed into a playground for mountain bike enthusiasts, boasting ten dynamic courses carved into the landscape. With support from the Forestry Agency’s Sustainable Forest Action subsidy program, the park was sculpted by hand by a group of mountain bike enthusiasts and the Morimachi Forestry Union.

The Yamaha man who kickstarted the project likens the efforts to dig out and create the park as “building paths”—paths leading the local people to welcome mountain biking as a hobby and the park as a destination for enthusiasts; paths that build communities by bringing people together; and the actual paths and trails constructed with shovels and pickaxes in hand. “We want to create more hubs for mountain biking around Japan, and thereby liven up the forests, connect people, and energize communities,” he explains.

“It’d be great if we’re able to turn still-struggling areas around so that more people and places can express how Yamaha came and changed things for the better.”