What is Geopark?
"The area I live in has nothing in particular", do you really think so? It may be just simply you have no idea what kind of land you live on. Looking from a different perspective, you will discover the whole different story and the history of the Earth, land and people; the discovery is what we call "treasures" reside in familiar landscape. As people find one of those treasures, each member of your community starts to feel proud of the place they live on -- this will be the trigger to lead the community to revive. One of our missions is to re-discover those "treasures" through various activities and utilize them as educational resources in the academic field, then pass on this geological heritage to future generations. uzawa Currently, there are 43 regions certified as Japanese Geoparks(●) by Japanese Geoparks Committee. Among the total, eight of those are also certified as UNESCO Global Geoparks(★) which are approved by the Global Geoparks Network (*). Including aspiring geoparks, 60 regions comprise the Japanese Geoparks network and its number is still increasing year by year. (As of August, 2017) *The activity of the Global Geoparks Network is officially deployed as UNESCO's project in 2015. Welcome! Yuzawa Geopark Promotion Group
Yuzawa Geopark
Japan sea Tsushima Current untains The area of Yuzawa Geopark is covering entire city of Yuzawa which is located at the south of Akita Prefecture. In winter, due to the Tsushima current of the Japan Sea, moist air flows into Yuzawa city. As the moist air collides with the Ou Mountains, it brings plentiful snow to this region by creating a rising air current. In such a snowy region, how people have been living? Will you be interested in the story of land and people in the area of Yuzawa Geopark? Introducing Yuzawa Geopark Character Shizu Komachi
Reserve a Geopark Guide
Yuzawa Geopark Guide Group Office 2-2-10 Omote-machi Yuzawa city, Akita Prefecture Japan 012-0827 (Inside of JR Yuzawa Station Tourist Information Facility) Tel：+31-183-56-6226  Email: yuzawageoguide@yutopia.or.jp Fare: 1000 yen per one hour (1 tour guide) *Japanese *Please contact us with any questions or to be consulted on course arrangements, budget, etc. Inquire about the Geopark Yuzawa Geopark Promotion Group Office 1-1 Satake-cho Yuzawa city, Akita Prefecture Japan 012-8501 (Inside Yuzawa City Hall Sightseeing and Geopark Promotion Department) Tel：+81-183-55-8195    Email: geopark@city.yuzawa.lg.jp
(Yuzava Geopars' slogan poets)  The ancient gift of volcano and heavy snow, our life stands on the history of the Earth Currently, Yuzawa Geopark has no active volcano.  However, there were lots of volcanic eruptions long before people start to live in the Yuzawa resion. Even nowadays you can see the evidence of previous volcanic activity around Yuzawa. People has been living by taking advantage of them.
Prospered with Silver
Yuzawa used to have many mines. Innai ginzan was one of the largest silver mines in the area during the Edo period. People gravitated to the town because of the mine, and that led to the development of other industries as well - the base of Yuzawa city was formed this way. Most of the mines were byproducts of volcanic activity such as underground magma. The mines are proof that magma activities actually took place in a deep part of the earth in Yuzawa. Melted rock (Magma)
Live with Fresh Water
Sake (Japanese rice wine) brewing is one of the major industries developed along with the mining industry. Sake was loved by workers at the mine, and they consumed in volume. However, that is not the only reason why Sake became Yuzawa's prominent industry. There are several conditions required to brew good Sake, and Yuzawa had them all. The Ou Mountains, which bring a lot of snow into the region, will block the cold wind and protect rice fields in summer. Thanks to that, the effect of the cold weather to the rice crop is not too severe in this region. Yuzawa is a very snowy region in winter. Snow will eventually become abundant water.
Expand Future with Geothermal Energy
Volcanic eruptions happened in Yuzawa long time ago, but volcanic activity has not ended. Volcanic activity is still ongoing in the deep part of Yuzawa's underground. You can feel the energy at various places around in Yuzawa such as Kawarage Jigoku or Oyasukyo Daifunto. At Kawarage Jigoku, despite the existence of hydrogen sulfide, if you are aware of the characteristics then you can enjoy the amazing scenery created by the volcanic activity. Having less highly active volcano which cause volcanic-related disasters is also one of the characteristics of Yuzawa's "hidden volcanoes". Geothermal generation in Yuzawa is also worthy of note. Uenotai geothermal generation plant is now in operation, and Wasabizawa geothermal generation plant is under construction. The geothermal research at Oyasu area and Kijiyama or Shitanotai area continues to progress. There is great hope for future business development in the area. There are more attractive spots you must see! If you are interested, please visit Yuzawa Geopark accompanied by Geo-guides. They will tell you the secrets hidden in the landscape. For Geo-guides, please contact Yuzawa Geopark Guide Group. Contact information is on the back of this brochure. Yuzawa is also characterized by the industry which makes good use of geographical features formed by water. In the Mitsuseki district, tons of soil were carried by the water and piled up over many years – they formed fan shape topography (alluvial fan) in various places. It is said that this landform suits the growing of fruit, Especially cherries produced in this area, with the effort of farmers, is said to be the best quality in Japan. At the plain side of the alluvial fan, Seri (water dropwort) is grown. This Seri is known for the fact you can eat from its tip to root. Combination of agriculture and geothermal energy is under trial. Dried cherry (Mitcherry) and dried daikon radish utilize the heat of hot springs for the drying process and are made and sold by local high school students. Hot springs are the water heated by geothermal energy, and that energy is part of the volcanic activity. The hot springs are the natural resources for practical usage such as heating for cultivation greenhouse and pasteurization of Mitcherry milk. In order to maintain the constant temperature of the room, storehouses of breweries were made with stone called Innaiishi. The stones are formed by volcanic eruption and have high insulation effectiveness.