There’s a spot called “Amami no Mori” (Amami Forest) in one corner of Hamakoshien Sports Park.
Here it is↓
Lots of sago palms have been planted here.
Sago palms grow naturally throughout the Amami Islands, and in the typhoon-prone Amami region, they apparently help serve as windbreaks and prevent landslides.
They are also, surprisingly, used as food.
For more details, please see these websites↓
Kagoshima Prefecture Tourism Site: Dondon Kagoshima no Tabi
For us, sago palms may be ornamental plants, but for the people of Amami, they are important plants closely tied to daily life.
Now, let’s step inside “Amami no Mori.”
It isn’t a very large forest, but once you step inside, it really does feel like you’re in Amami.
Amami City is a friendship city of Nishinomiya City. Here is how Nishinomiya City and Amami City came to form their friendship city partnership↓
In 1955, the then-director of Kikuchi Kaisei Hospital and a group of volunteers began visiting Amami Oshima every summer for more than 10 years, where the island was struggling with a shortage of medical facilities and doctors. They conducted health checkups for residents and worked to promote public health awareness. Later, from 1967, with sponsorship from the Lions Club, exchange programs were held between junior high school students from Nishinomiya City and the Amami Islands. Through these many years of citizen exchange, momentum for a partnership grew, and in October 1981, an agreement was signed in the former city of Naze (now Amami City).
In addition, after Naze City merged with one neighboring town and one village on March 20, 2006 to form the new Amami City, Nishinomiya City entered into a renewed friendship city partnership with Amami City on August 26, 2006, with the agreement signed in Nishinomiya.
(Source: Nishinomiya City Official Website)
The friendship city partnership was formed in 1981, but the stone monument says that “Amami no Mori” was donated by the “Kansai Amami Association” in 1978, even before that.
It shows that Nishinomiya already had deep ties with Amami before the official friendship city partnership was established.
Discover the jungle at Nishinomiya!!!!!
We found the jungle at “Hamakoshien Sports Park”.
This is an image.↓
This jungle is named “Amami jungle”, a number of “Cycad” have been planted.
At “Amami City” is grows a lot of “Cycad”, we helping the people’s lives.
For more information, please look at this website.↓
Let’s enter the “Amami jungle”!!!!!
It looks like I am in “Amami”!!!!!
“Amami City” and “Nishinomiya City” are friendship cities.
You can see that “Amami City” and “Nishinomiya City” have had a deep exchange since ancient times.
