Forest Sanctuary: Shirakami

Journeys in Japan – Season 3

Our reporter David Bull travels to Shirakami-sanchi, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in northern Japan. Nature guide and botanist Hajime Makita takes him around. Shirakami is recognized for its primeval broadleaf forest of mostly beech trees. David experiences the heartbeat of this vast, undisturbed forest. He later enjoys swimming in a beautiful river, just outside the preserve. For his next stop, David boards a train, heading west. He alights at Fukaura-machi in Aomori Prefecture where the water from Shirakami-sanchi flows into the sea. He observes the deep ties of Shirakami-sanchi with the sea. (Excerpt)