21st Century Forest

21st Century Forest

VIEWPOINT

21st Century Forest is by far one of my favourite viewpoints in the whole of the peninsula. Designed specifically for the “21st century people”, it was made to bridge the gap between people and nature. There is a nature path through the forest with an adventure course and temple along the way.

There is a large free car park available.

Review

21st Century Forest is yet another accidental find while driving about the peninsula. It can be quite difficult to find as you have to drive up the mountain roads, away from the village. You can find this in the middle of nowhere on the mountain. There are some small villages nearby but otherwise there is nothing else in this area other than mountains and forests. The road up can get pretty narrow, with you having to pull in to the side if there are cars coming the other way. It also isn’t very well kept so there is usually a lot of branches/rocks on the road so be careful if you’re driving up. Also don’t drive too fast as there are a lot of sharp bends!

When you arrive make sure you head over to the seating area. The view from here is spectacular! I recommend visiting during golden hour as the view is the best then, although the drive back down the mountain is pretty scary at dark so only do this if you’re ok with night mountain road driving. Feel free to even bring a picnic with you and look out at the scenery, although be warned that there can be a lot of bugs here dependent on the season.

I would recommend heading to the adventure park to the right of the car park first (slightly back along the road you arrived in). This is a good ara for kids to run about and expel a lot of energy. It also seems suitable for adults.

Heading along the nature trail you’ll come across a small temple with many statues. I’m not sure if this temple is in business or if no one lives/works here. Every time I’ve visited it’s seemed abandoned. Have a look around before heading along the rest of the nature trail.

I haven’t been around the whole trail myself yet so I can’t advise how difficult it is. I’ve walked for around 20 minutes and the trail seems to be a downhill slope, although this could change later on. I’ll definitely head back for the walk when the weather is nice enough and there aren’t any mosquitos waiting to suck the life out of me!

ADDRESS

21st Century Forest,
Kadono,
Matsuzaki,
Shizuoka Prefecture,
410-3607

Phone number unavailable
Website unavailable

RECOMMENDED ROUTE:

21st Century Forest is impossible to get to with public transport. The closest you can get is Matsuzaki and then you would have to take a taxi up, however it’s a long drive and there’s not much reception to call a taxi back when you’re there. I only recommend this if you have a car!