Metasequoia Street with Snow

In northern part of Japan, still cherry blossoms are far away and there is still much snow left as well.

Approximately 500 metasequoias have been planted along Shiga prefectural road Koaraji Makino Sawa Line over a total length of 2.4 km, creating a scenic approach to the Makino Plateau, in harmony with the distant mountains of the Nosaka Mountains.

The trees were first planted by the Makino-cho Fruit Tree Producing Association as part of the “Makino Do-no-Sato” project in 1981, and have since been cherished and nurtured by members of the association and other local people. Metasequoia is a deciduous tree of the genus Metasequoia of the family Taxodiaceae, native to China, and its Japanese name is Akebonosugi. It is named Meta (deformed) Sequoia because it resembles Sequoia, which is said to have a maximum tree height of 115 m.

It attracts visitors in each of the four seasons with the buds and fresh greenery in spring, the deep greenery in summer, the colored leaves in autumn, and the naked trees and snowflakes in winter. In 1994, the magazine was selected by The Yomiuri Shimbun as one of its “100 Views of New Japanese Street Trees” and has since attracted public attention.