Residents’ Forest is enchanting site to relax

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A long roller slide is a sure attraction to kids.

It’s been around for years and years in the hilly country near Onna Village on Okinawa’s northwest coast, and the Residents’ Forest is a site where people can commune with nature, while taking on challenges in the great outdoors.

The 181 hectares of Residents’ Forest offer plenty of open areas for camping, picnics and other leisure activities, all for free or at very modest prices.

Located in Onna Village Attadake, the Residents’ Forest is a sprawling 181 hectares of forest located 160 feet above sea level. There, there’s virtually no limit to the choices of activities. There are walking trails, a mountain climbing course, a nature observation course, running locations, a floating course and park games. The area’s free to visit, although there are charges for specific services.

Nature lovers are enthralled with seeing the 250+ varieties of plants and flowers, including Siebold’s magnolia. The nature observation course takes about 90 minutes to walk through its 1,278 meters. There

Several hiking trails crisscross the forest areas of the park.

are several mountain climbing courses of 529 and 580 meters, each taking about a half-hour to traverse. Educational facilities, including a forest science building and forestry production and sales facilities, are included in the complex. The 878 meters long floating course takes 40 minutes to cruise through, and horseback riding is offered along the eastern part of the mountain.

The park is closed on Mondays. The park is open 9 a.m. ~ 6:30 p.m. through August 31^st, and 9 a.m. ~ 5:30 p.m. September through March. The park is open year around, except on Japanese holidays.

The tennis courts are an inexpensive ¥150 per hour, and rackets and balls are rented for only ¥50. The same applies to grass skiing equipment, bicycles, park golf and ground golf equipment. There’s a campground that rents sites for only ¥500 per night, and tents are available to rent for only ¥1,050 per night. Camping is permitted April 1^st through November 30^th, except holidays.

There’s plenty of parking for 383 cars and more than a dozen busses. Barbeques and other activities involving fire are restricted to the campgrounds. Details on going to the Residents’ Forest is available at http://www.pref.okinawa.jp/linmu/site/kenminnomori/20120129brochure%20_Forest%20of%20Residents.pdf.