Where hinoki grows, the Kiso forest where shinrin-yoku started, the forest in Mie where my oil comes from, and how to bring a bit of it home.
The hinoki forest most people should know about is in the Kiso valley in Nagano, because that's where forest bathing started. It's an old, carefully protected hinoki forest, and in 1982 it hosted the first shinrin-yoku event in Japan. A lot of the research and practice that came after traces back to that one forest.
I fell for hinoki in a bathtub, not a forest, but the forest is where the scent comes from and where I've spent a lot of time since. I go to Japan a couple of times a year and work directly with a forest and distillery in Mie. Here's where hinoki grows, the forest that started shinrin-yoku, and how to get some of it when you're nowhere near one.
Where Do Hinoki Trees Grow?
Hinoki, Chamaecyparis obtusa, is native to Japan, mostly the central and southern parts of the main islands. It grows slowly and straight, and over centuries Japan planted and managed large areas of it for timber, alongside sugi, the Japanese cedar. So most hinoki forests you'd walk through today are tended forests, thinned and replanted by people, which is part of why they feel so orderly, with tall straight trunks, an open floor and light coming down between them.
A few regions are known for theirs. Kiso hinoki, from the Kiso valley in Nagano, is one of the most prized timbers in the country. Yoshino in Nara is famous for its forests of sugi and hinoki, and Owase in Mie is known for its hinoki too. So which forest is the one that started it all?
Akasawa: Where Forest Bathing Began
The Akasawa Natural Recreation Forest sits in the Kiso valley near the town of Agematsu. Its hinoki has been protected since the 1600s, when the ruling domain controlled felling so strictly that the policy was known as "one tree, one head." The forest later passed to the imperial household, and its timber has been used for the Ise Grand Shrine, which is rebuilt from fresh hinoki every 20 years. Many of the trees there are a few hundred years old.
In 1970 Akasawa became Japan's first natural recreation forest, and in 1982 it hosted the country's first forest bathing event, the same year Japan's Forestry Agency introduced the term shinrin-yoku. That's why it's often called the birthplace of forest bathing. Today you can walk its trails along the river and ride a small forest railway that once carried the logs out.
Akasawa
The year Japan held its first forest bathing event, in the Kiso hinoki forest.
It's the same year the term shinrin-yoku was introduced, which is why Akasawa is called the birthplace of forest bathing.
What Is Forest Bathing in a Hinoki Forest Like?
Forest bathing, shinrin-yoku, means walking slowly through a forest and paying attention with your senses, not hiking for distance. In a hinoki forest the smell is a big part of it, because the air carries a faint version of the same lemon and dry wood scent that's in the bottle. The trees release terpenes like α-pinene into the air around them, and in shinrin-yoku research, forest compounds like these have been associated with lower stress markers.
Japan now certifies dozens of forests with marked trails and trained guides for this, known as Forest Therapy Bases, and Akasawa is one of them. If you're planning a trip, a guided walk at one of them is a good way to start. Our forest bathing page has more on the practice itself.
The Forest in Mie Where My Oil Comes From
When I decided to work directly with a forest owner, I flew to Japan, met suppliers and spent a week in the small town the forest is in. I visited the forest, saw the distillery and saw where the new trees get planted, every step of the process. Mie sits on the Kii peninsula south of Nagoya, and it's also where the Ise Grand Shrine stands, so hinoki is close to the center of things there.
I go back a couple of times a year. Most of the hinoki I found in the US was trash, and the only way I trust what's in the bottle is to know where it came from.
How to Bring the Hinoki Forest Home
The real forest is still the best version of this, so go when you can. For the days you can't, the same signals can come with you: the scent, the sound and a slow pace. One of my absolute favorite things to do is put on headphones, open the free kimorii: Breathwork & Hinoki app (on iPhone and Android), start a 20 minute session with the forest sounds, and walk holding a Forest Block with a few drops of hinoki oil on it, smelling the wood every so often with simple 4-4-4-4 breathing.
Holding a piece of wood while you hear the forest and smell hinoki gives your body several physical cues that it's time to switch modes. How to forest bathe in the city has more ways to do it on an ordinary day. If you ever get to Japan, give Akasawa a day, and until then, a 20 minute walk with the forest in your headphones and a wood block in your hand is a pretty good start.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do hinoki trees grow?
Hinoki (Chamaecyparis obtusa) is native to Japan, mainly the central and southern parts of the main islands. Much of it grows in planted, managed forests, and regions like the Kiso valley in Nagano, Yoshino in Nara and Owase in Mie are known for their hinoki.
Where did forest bathing start?
Forest bathing is usually traced to the Akasawa Natural Recreation Forest, a protected hinoki forest in the Kiso valley in Nagano. It hosted Japan's first forest bathing event in 1982, the same year Japan's Forestry Agency introduced the term shinrin-yoku.
Can you visit a hinoki forest in Japan?
Yes. Akasawa, near Agematsu in Nagano, has walking trails through old hinoki forest, and Japan has dozens of certified forest bathing sites, called Forest Therapy Bases, with marked trails and guided walks.
What does a hinoki forest smell like?
A hinoki forest carries a faint version of the scent of hinoki oil: a bright, slightly lemony top note over dry, clean wood. The trees release terpenes such as α-pinene into the air, which is a big part of why a conifer forest smells the way it does.
