Landscapes shaped by Humans
Three national parks are located partly in Kansai. Their vocation is both the protection of ecosystems and landscapes, but also the environmental education of the public.
San'in Kaigan National Park: it shelters the coastal landscapes of pine trees and white sands along the Uradome coast. It is part of a UNESCO GEOPARK and protects remarkable geological sites from Kyoto to Tottori.
Setonaikai National Park (Seto Inland Sea National Park): protects more than 3,000 islands and sites of great beauty, such as the Shinto shrine of Itsukushima, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Yoshino-Kumano National Park: home to Mount Yoshino and in the Kii Mountains, sacred sites and pilgrimage routes, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. With roads and trails along its coastlines to its mountains, it offers wonderful walks for hikers and bikers.
Japanese gardens
It is interesting to recall that the landscape on the territory is often the result of man-made construction. Over the centuries, the mountains have suffered from deforestation. Erosion has led to the formation of sands, and softwoods have gradually replaced the primary forest, the laurel, creating landscapes of "blue pines and white sands". In cities, gardens are an intellectual construction. Land and water are symbolic elements, represented by ponds, which visitors can contemplate or walk around. Zen gardens or dry gardens, almost exclusively mineral, are spaces that invite meditation. The traveller visiting Kyoto will be spoilt for choice when it comes to immersing himself in the atmosphere of Japanese gardens. It is estimated that there are more than 300 monastery gardens in the former capital.
Ryoan-ji Temple Garden: this is a Zen garden(karesansui) inviting to meditation.
The Ginkaku-ji and its gardens (Silver Pavilion): it shelters a dry garden (known as "Silver Sea of Sand") and a moss garden, composed of ponds, bridges, small streams and plants.
The Saiho-ji Garden, nicknamed the "Temple of Moss": this colourful garden takes you on a circular tour around the "Golden Pond".
An area favourable to soft mobility
In Osaka, as in other Kansai cities, cycling is part of the daily life of many people (25% modal share). You will thus meet the famous "mamachari" ("mothers' bikes"), bicycles equipped with child seats, baskets or other devices to carry your shopping... and your offspring. However, the problem lies in parking difficulties. The density of parked bicycles is often very high, and they sometimes clutter up the pavements. Large bicycle parking lots are built, as well as parking meters. Although theft is almost non-existent, you can still find your bike in the impoundment area. Like the locals, don't hesitate to pedal in the cities of Kansai (there are many bike rental companies in the area). The fans of the little queen will also find a bicycle museum in Sakai. You should also know that the coastline and rural areas lend themselves well to a discovery on a freewheeler. Train lines connect the cities of Kansai. One should mention the Shinkansen line, a high-speed train, which connects Kyoto to Tokyo, and Mount Fuji. For those who like to travel slowly, you can walk along parts of the Tokäido Road, the "East Sea Road", between Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe. For an inland trip, the pilgrimage routes of the Kii Mountains will offer you peace and a change of scenery. The wooded areas also lend themselves to "Shirin Yoku" or forest baths, with their recognized therapeutic virtues.
Let's go to zero waste!
Certain ancestral values are part of Japanese culture, such as the fight against waste and living simply, without superfluous. This art of living inspired by the "wabi-sabi" facilitates the deployment of the "zero waste" approach promoted in the country. A few examples: furoshiki or the art of packing with recovered fabrics, tawashi, a sponge made of used fabrics, ororiculi, a bamboo ear pick. The Mainichi Shimbun daily newspaper is made of recycled paper made of water and seeds; once you have finished reading the newspaper, just plant it... to have flowers. The reuse of broken objects is also made possible with the kintsugi technique. In Kyoto, you can also meet anti-waste "samurai" equipped with garbage pliers.
A region subject to natural hazards and global warming
Kansai is subject to major natural hazards, including earthquakes and volcanoes. For several years now, we have been witnessing an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme events (typhoons, floods, drought) that are linked to climate change. In 2020, the NGO Germanwatch listed Japan among the countries most affected by climate change. For its part, the OECD has ranked Osaka and Kobe among the coastal cities most exposed to the risk of flooding. The intensification of extreme phenomena has highlighted the vulnerability of the territory and the need to implement a climate risk prevention strategy. As for the dilemma between economy and climate, the implementation of preventive measures remains less costly than curative measures. Perhaps the most emblematic example is typhoon Jedi, which damaged KIX, Kansai International Airport. Built in 1994 on an artificial island sinking into the water, it has been continuously reinforced. As a strategic infrastructure for the economic and tourism activities of the Territory, it was forced to close temporarily following the typhoon of 2018. Already in 1994, when it was built, scientists estimated that the airport would have difficulty withstanding more than 50 years because of climate change.
