In 1915, Japan planned a forest designed to mature over 150 years; 110,000 volunteers later planted 100,000 donated trees

In the heart of one of the world’s busiest cities lies a forest that was never meant to stay the way it was planted. Hidden behind the bustling streets of Tokyo’s Harajuku district, the woodland surrounding Meiji Jingu Shrine was conceived in 1915 with an ambition to create a self-sustaining forest that would continue to evolve naturally for at least 150 years without any human intervention post the planting phase. More than a century later, the plan is unfolding in the manner the designers had once envisioned. According to the Meiji Jingu Shrine , the forest was established through one of Japan’s largest civic environmental projects, with 110,000 volunteers planting 100,000 donated trees. Today, the 70-hectare woodlands stand as one of Tokyo’s most important urban ecosystems, which is also considered a landmark in the country’s ecological forestry.

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