Cedar Avenue in Japan

Burke's Backyard Overseas

Don travelled north of Tokyo to see the famous Nikko Suginamiki, or cedar avenue. Thousands of Japanese cedar trees (Cryptomeria japonica) line the 37 kilometre route from Nikko City to the Toshogu Shrine. (Toshogu Shrine is the mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa shogunate, which ruled from 1603 to 1867.)

These gigantic cedars (some are over 50 metres tall) were planted around 370 years ago. They have been designated as special historic relics and each one is looked after and numbered. The road has been carefully constructed of huge concrete Lego-like blocks with holes in them and then backfilled with soil to make sure passing traffic does not compact the soil, leading to root death of the trees.

In Australia we are used to seeing conifers such as Japanese cedars and the Hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa) as single specimens rarely exceeding 15m. In Japan, Don was thrilled to see both species growing in great forests and covering whole mountainsides.

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