Need Some Goats

I am the treasurer of the 高尾梅郷協会 Takao Baigo Kyokai, the association that tends to the 10,000 or so 梅 ume (Prunus mume; Japanese apricot; often called “plum”) trees of Uratakao. We also organize the 梅まつり Ume Festival held each second weekend of March. Being treasurer is a pain in the ass 👍.

Tangent: Ume and their blossoms are far superior to the much-more-ballyhooed sakura. They come just in the nick of time, when the cruel winter has driven us nigh unto despair. They smell much stronger and lovelier. They last longer. They withstand more weather adversity. They vary more in color. They produce useful fruit, unlike the ubiquitous Somei Yoshino sakura, which are only ornamental. Praise be to ume.

Kogesawa Bairin is the largest of the Uratakao ume groves. It is here. During March, our association staffs the grove so that the public can enter and walk around in it. There is a page on the Hachioji City website that tracks the progress of the blooms. It’s nice. I wish the open-grove state could be extended or even made permanent.

Kogesawa Grove (photo from the excellent Tama region portal site Imatama)

The grove came to exist due to the circa-1964 construction of the Kobotoke Tunnel of the Chuo Expressway, which is adjacent to the grove. The tunnel is a short distance to the west from the grove. It runs under Kobotoke Pass, which is on the border between Tokyo and Kanagawa (and just a bit further west, Yamanashi). A lot of dirt and rock was extracted to build the two-kilometer tunnel(s), and the national 道路公団 Japan Highway Public Corporation (now the privatized NEXCO) placed a lot of the resulting material at the site where the grove is.

(The JR Chuo Line also has two tunnels called “Kobotoke Tunnel” for trains; confusion ensues. When I say “Kobotoke Tunnel” in this blog post I speak of the two automobile tunnels for going away from and back to Tokyo under the same eponymous pass.)

In 1964, a local politician was working to plant a lot of ume trees in 裏高尾 Uratakao, which is located on the north side of Mt. Takao and was once home to the 甲州街道 Koshu Kaido that was a main artery connecting Edo / Tokyo with points west. The surface road through Uratakao is now a dead end for vehicles, which travel to get west on Route 20 across Odarumi Pass. Anyway, back then, the politician wanted to create a tourism asset for Uratakao and Takao in general, and from his efforts the 高尾梅郷 Takao Ume Groves were planted (or expanded from existing ones).

When the Highway Corporation placed this large amount of material at the mouth of Kogesawa, a creek running southeast into the Kobotoke River in the main valley of Uratakao, the politician prevailed upon the corporation to terrace the large accumulation and allow the planting of ume trees. This was done, and the grove continues to this day.

Kogesawa Grove

There are about 1,400 ume trees on the terraced site. It is a large space, and very pleasant to walk around during the open grove days of March.

Kogesawa Grove is a lot of work to maintain. Twice each year in June and September, the massive amount of undergrowth that grows spontaneously must be cut down to give the trees air and light. Fertilizer must also be spread to keep the trees nourished. All the cutting work is done using weed whackers and sickles, and much of it is on the steep slopes between the upper and lower areas. The Baigo Kyokai does all of this. It is hot, hard work. Most of the people doing it are 70 or older. Tough old people; both men and women, but mostly men. And of course, their numbers dwindle a bit more each year.

So when I became aware of the increasing number of goat rental services in Japan, it occurred to mme that goats might be an excellent solution to the long-term sustainability of Kogesawa Grove. The goats would ideally eat most or at least a large portion of the undergrowth, leaving the association with an easier volume to manage. Hopefully they could be deployed on the slopes especially. They would also turn the undergrowth into fertilizer on the spot.

In further steps of the scheme, they could be a cool attraction for people to come and see. Association members could potentially staff the grove during more times of the year than just March, tending to the minimal (from what I read) care the goats require, while being at the grove so visitors can enter and walk around on the nice paths therein.

At today’s meeting of association leadership, I proposed that we study how goat rental might work, and try it out. Everyone was positive about it. The experience of one 80-year-old member whose Takao household kept goats when he was a child was that they are unlikely to damage the ume trees or their bark. There are macaques living in the mountains around the grove, but we don’t think they would pose much threat to the goats. And the integrity of the fencing around the grove is very solid.

I was assigned next step, which is to research the many goat rental operators and their fees, etc. After identifying some good operators and possibly visiting them / having them visit the grove, we will approach the city, which is consigned with managing the grove property by the highway company NEXCO, which still owns the land. The city will possibly raise some questions, but they are quite flexible with us and appreciate our role in maintaining what is quite a nice tourism asset.

I will keep you updated 🐐