ECOPLUS, English, エコプラス, 山里

Village of hardness and beauty

In September, fresh green colors are covering mountains and valleys where is covered by snow sometimes more than 4-5 meters in winter.
In September, fresh green colors are covering mountains and valleys where is covered by snow sometimes more than 4-5 meters in winter.

Shimizu is the last village to the mount Makihata which is acclaimed one of the best 100 mountains in Japan.

At shimizu, Less than 20 households are living calmly surrounded by beautiful forest.

There was a pass way connecting Echigo and Kanto area through Shimizu village and this village saw some tycoons and their samurais moving toward Kanto area for their battle.

Shimizu is the one of the place which has the heaviest snow falls in this snowy area. People need to fight with the snow for surviving.
Shimizu is the one of the place which has the heaviest snow falls in this snowy area. People need to fight with the snow for surviving.

Elevation is around 600 meters and in the winter season easily over 4 meter of snow covers the village.

The blanch school had closed 20 years ago and very limited number of children are living here.

Aged 20 families are just staying here. Slopes are steep so that rice paddies are not easy to set.
Lumbering business is dying away pressed by cheap imported materials. Maintenance work for high voltage power lines which had been supporting the village economy is shrinking hard because of advancement of remote monitoring technology. The future of the village is really on the edge.

On the other hand, nature of the mountain is still health. Mountain goats, monkeys and bears are walking around the village. Villagers keep their own way of life collecting mountain vegetables in the spring and variety of mushrooms in the fall.