The Rokka no Mori Project is a landscape design project centered on ecological restoration across an expansive, 100,000 m² site undertaken when Rokkatei, a popular Hokkaido confectionery manufacturer, built a new factory there.

Landscape design is mainly the practice of planning outdoor spaces to seamlessly blend artificial features with all-natural features, including trees, flowers, plants, soil, rocks, and flowing water.

The site, located near Tokachi Obihiro Airport, offers views of Tokachi's mountain range. Flowing nearby is the Satsunai River, a class A river system known for its clear water. When we started surveying the site in 1997, it was a broad expanse of dry land. From that time, 10 long years were spent improving the site's environment before reaching completion in 2007.

Detailed below are the methods we employed in creating a landscape by carefully identifying the site's various environmental resources, such as water and vegetation, while giving consideration to factors including biodiversity and the regional landscape.

Rokkatei's new factory was completed on this site in 1998, and we began surveying the land in 1997, the previous year.

Originally developed as a large-scale farm, the site was a vast expanse of dry land with a water supply from the Satsunai River cut off by a levee. In the past, however, a river ran through it, and we had also learned that there was abundant subsoil water beneath the surface, fed by the river. Guided by the land's natural features and former river channels, we decided to revive the riverside landscape.

Our site survey also revealed that white trillium (Trillium camtschatcense), a prominent plant of the region, as well as wildflowers including violets were growing in the abandoned forests, despite being covered by varieties of bamboo grasses. We therefore set out to conserve the white trillium and other local vegetation as we worked to revive the streamside landscape.

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To explore the optimal relationships among water, plants, topography, trees, and other elements, we organized diagrams that abstractly represent our design methods.

• *1　Ecotone
  A transitional area between different biological communities. For example, a waterside ecotone, such as the riverbank, serves as the transition area between terrestrial and aquatic habitats, hosting a diverse array of organisms.

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The 100,000 m² site looks flat at first glance due to its vastness, but the terrain was actually rich in subtle variations. In addition to conducting on-site surveys, we analyzed aerial photographs and topographical maps over the decades to identify the characteristics of the site's former river channels (grooves cut into the ground by flowing water), subsoil water, and other environmental resources, as well as the step-like river terraces (fluvial terraces). Using these characteristics to guide us, we regenerated streams and wetlands to create new terrain that could support diverse vegetation.

Models for studies created based on identified characteristics. The regenerated streams serve to connect the areas with trees that had been isolated from one another.

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As water flow returned, colonies of diverse plants became established and a rich ecosystem regenerated over time. The restored streams supported vegetation made up of indigenous species, while the Ezo Brown Frog (Rana pirica), Ezo Salamander (Hynobius retardatus), and other local flora and fauna returned, creating a diversified environment.

The restored streams have nurtured the landscape over time. Its beauty deepened rather than faded, offering scenes that resonate with visitors.

Note: This page reflects information as of March 2025.

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