Abandoned Wooden Road

While exploring along an old farm road in the mountains of central Japan I discovered a short stretch of wooden road winding up along a small cliff. The road was likely constructed by farmers hoping to reinforce this dangerous stretch and prevent landslides. There job appears to have been well done as though the rest of the farm road has been reduced to a narrow track this wooden part remains in fairly good shape.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Japan
• Japanese
• wood
• wooden
• road
• farm
• mountains
• hiking
• Tokaido
• Softypapa

[sylle999]

where are you in that Video ??? =)

[softypapa]

Hello sylle999, This video was shot in the hills just outside a small village called Hirasawa. This village is located in the Nippondaira hills close to Shizuoka City in Shizuoka prefecture. Have a happy new year and thanks for watching and commenting! -Kurt :-)

[softypapa]

Hello MicknFumi, Your old road sounds like an interesting place and one I would have enjoyed seeing myself. Thank you for sharing with us! -Kurt :-)

[FeileCase]

~I LOVE THAT SOUND TOO~ :)

[softypapa]

Hello patio87, I suspect that this wood may have come from a nearby railroad and thus may have been treated and made resistant to rot. I often see bits and pieces from the railroad (ties, track, etc) in this area which have been recycled by farmers. This may explaing the relative good condition of the wood despite many decades of exposure. Just a guess though... -Kurt :-)

[MicknFumi]

No they were old jarrah logs covered in bitumen. The wood was deteriorating & causing cracks in the bitumen. So they bulldozed the road, removed it elsewhere & built anew. This would have been in about 1979 & people just weren't so nostalgic back then. They probably burnt them, as they did many others up until the early 90's. Now jarrah is highly valued. However the logs were not really in any condition for reuse.

[patio87]

WOW, that would be incredible if it was truly that old. But don't you think that that wood would have rotted away in that time?

[softypapa]

Hello MicknFumi, I'd love to see this old road you describe. The history sounds very interesting. During the restoration did they manage to preserve the old wooden sections? Thanks for sharing! -Kurt :~)

[softypapa]

Hello reymiland, I think that you are correct regarding the purpose of the wood. I really don't know about the age and any educated guess might be right. Thanks for watching and commenting! -Kurt :^)

[softypapa]

Hello patio87, My wife tells me that there were very few roads in this area when she was little (1970's) though I suspect this particular road likely dates from the early to mid part of the last century. It's likely though that a walking trail ran along this route for a very long time prior to the road. This is just my speculation though. -Kurt :-)