List of national parks of Japan

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Itsukushima in Setonaikai National Park, the first of Japan's national parks (established 1934) ItsukushimaTorii7359.jpg
Itsukushima in Setonaikai National Park, the first of Japan's national parks (established 1934)

National parks (国立公園, Kokuritsu Kōen) and quasi-national parks (国定公園, Kokutei Kōen) of Japan are places of scenic beauty that are designated for protection and sustainable use by the Minister of the Environment under the Natural Parks Law ( 自然公園法 ) of 1957. [1] National parks are designated and in principle managed by the Ministry of the Environment. Quasi-national parks, of a slightly lesser beauty, size, diversity, or state of preservation, are recommended for ministerial designation and managed by the prefectures under the supervision of the ministry. [2]

Contents

History

Japan established its first kōen (公園) or public parks in 1873 (Asakusa Park, Asukayama Park, Fukagawa Park, Shiba Park, and Ueno Park). In 1911 local citizens petitioned that the shrines and forests of Nikkō be placed under public protection. In 1929 the National Parks Association was formed. In 1931 the first National Parks Law ( 国立公園法 ) was passed. After much study and survey, in March 1934 the first parks were established — Setonaikai, Unzen and Kirishima — with five more in December and a further four two years later. Three further parks were established under the old National Parks Law, in colonial Taiwan in 1937: the Tatun National Park (the smallest in Japan); Tsugitaka-Taroko National Park, (the largest); and Niitaka-Arisan National Park (with the highest mountain in then Japan). [3]

Ise-Shima was the first to be created after the war, and a further seven had been added by 1955.

In 1957 the Natural Parks Law replaced the earlier National Parks Law, allowing for three categories: the national, quasi-national, and prefectural natural parks. With minor amendments this established the framework that operates today. [4] [5]

As of 1 April 2014, there were 31 national parks and 56 quasi-national parks, with the national parks covering 20,996 km2 (5.6% of the land area) and the quasi-national parks 13,592 km2 (3.6% of the land area). In addition, there were 314 prefectural parks covering 19,726 km2 (5.2% of the land area). [6] On 27 March 2015, the 32nd national park was established, Myōkō-Togakushi Renzan National Park, [7] on 15 September 2016, the 33rd, Yanbaru National Park, and on 7 March 2017, the 34th, Amami Guntō National Park, subsuming Amami Guntō Quasi-National Park. [8] [9] On 25 March 2016, a further quasi-national park was established, Kyoto Tamba Kogen Quasi-National Park, on 27 March 2020, Chūō Alps Quasi-National Park, and, on 30 March 2021, the 58th, Akkeshi-Kiritappu-Konbumori Quasi-National Park. [10] [11] On 25 June 2024, Hidaka-sanmyaku Erimo Quasi-National Park was redesignated Hidakasanmyaku-Erimo-Tokachi National Park, making it the 35th national park. [12]

Protection status

The area of each national and quasi-national park is divided into ordinary, special and marine park zones. Special zones are further subdivided into special protection and class I, II, and III special zones, restricting access and use for preservation purposes. The state owns only approximately half of the land in the parks. [13]

Map of national parks

This map shows the locations of the national parks in Japan. Note Ogasawara National Park is not visible on the map.

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Map with national parks of Japan. Note Ogasawara National Park is not on the map.

List of national parks

NameEstablishedRegionArea [ha]Photo
Akan Mashu National Park 1934 Hokkaidō 90,481 hectares (223,580 acres) Onneto and Akan1 DSCN2488 20060805.JPG
Minami Alps National Park 1964 Chūbu 35,752 hectares (88,350 acres) 13 Arakawadake from Shiomidake 2000-7-9.jpg
Amami Guntō National Park 2017 Kyūshū 42,181 hectares (104,230 acres) Mangrove in amami.JPG
Ashizuri-Uwakai National Park 1972 Shikoku 11,345 hectares (28,030 acres) Ashizurimisaki-cape 01.JPG
Aso Kujū National Park 1934 Kyūshū 72,678 hectares (179,590 acres) Aso Nakadake 20150920.jpg
Bandai-Asahi National Park 1950 Tōhoku 186,389 hectares (460,580 acres) Bishamon Pond With Mount Bandai.JPG
Chichibu Tama Kai National Park 1950 Kantō 126,259 hectares (311,990 acres) Mt.Kobushigatake from Mt.Tokusa 03.jpg
Chūbu-Sangaku National Park 1934 Chūbu 174,323 hectares (430,760 acres) Mount Tate and Mount Tsurugi from Mount Nunobiki.jpg
Daisen-Oki National Park 1936 Chūgoku 35,353 hectares (87,360 acres) Daisen in Autumn.jpg
Daisetsuzan National Park 1934 Hokkaidō 226,764 hectares (560,350 acres) Daisetsusan national park 2005-08.JPG
Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park 1936 Kantō 121,695 hectares (300,710 acres) Asagiri Highland and Mount Fuji.JPG
Hakusan National Park 1962 Chūbu 11,345 hectares (28,030 acres) Hakusan01.JPG
Hidakasanmyaku-Erimo-Tokachi National Park 2024 Hokkaido 245,668 hectares (607,060 acres) Huang Kao Yue yoriWang muidonnatsupuYue , Zuo niJian erunohaHuang Kao Hu (Ao Xin Guan damuHu )2014Nian 7Yue 24Ri Cuo Ying .JPG
Iriomote-Ishigaki National Park 1972 Kyūshū 40,653 hectares (100,460 acres) Kabira Bay Ishigaki Island30s3s4592.jpg
Ise-Shima National Park 1946 Kinki 55,544 hectares (137,250 acres) Ago Bay and sunrise s3.JPG
Jōshin'etsu-kōgen National Park 1949 Kantō 148,194 hectares (366,200 acres) Mount Tanigawa 01.jpg
Kerama Shotō National Park 2014 Kyūshū 3,520 hectares (8,700 acres) Furuzamami beach Okinawa Zamami.jpg
Kirishima-Kinkowan National Park 1934 Kyūshū 36,586 hectares (90,410 acres) Summit of Sakurajima.jpg
Kushiro-shitsugen National Park 1987 Hokkaidō 28,788 hectares (71,140 acres) Kushirositsugen Hosooka Tenboudai01.jpg
Myōkō-Togakushi Renzan National Park 2015 Chūbu 39,772 hectares (98,280 acres) Lake Nojiri.JPG
Nikkō National Park 1934 Kantō 114,908 hectares (283,940 acres) Lake chuzenji and kegon waterfall.jpg
Ogasawara National Park 1972 Kantō 6,629 hectares (16,380 acres) Ogasawara Islands, Tokyo, Japan.jpg
Oze National Park 1972 Tōhoku and Kantō 37,200 hectares (92,000 acres) Mountains in Oze National Park.JPG
Rishiri-Rebun-Sarobetsu National Park 1974 Hokkaidō 24,166 hectares (59,720 acres) Mt Rishiri.jpg
Saikai National Park 1955 Kyūshū 24,646 hectares (60,900 acres) Shiodawara cliff.JPG
Sanin Kaigan National Park 1936 Kinki 8,783 hectares (21,700 acres) Uradome Coast Sengan-Matsushima.JPG
Sanriku Fukkō National Park 1955 Tōhoku 28,537 hectares (70,520 acres) Jyoudogahama.jpg
Setonaikai National Park 1934 Kinki, Chūgoku, Shikoku, Kyushu (Joint management)67,242 hectares (166,160 acres) Harbor View Park Hinase Bizen Okayama Pref Japan03bs.jpg
Shikotsu-Tōya National Park 1949 Hokkaidō 99,473 hectares (245,800 acres) Lake Shikotsu Mt Monbetsu03n3200.jpg
Shiretoko National Park 1964 Hokkaidō 38,636 hectares (95,470 acres) Waterfall of Kamuiwakka 01.JPG
Towada-Hachimantai National Park 1936 Tōhoku 85,534 hectares (211,360 acres) Yu Shan karanoYan Shou Shan toBa Fan Ping Mt. Iwate ^ Hachimantai Plateau from Tamayama - panoramio.jpg
Unzen-Amakusa National Park 1934 Kyūshū 28,279 hectares (69,880 acres) Fugendake 02 Pyroplastic flow area.JPG
Yakushima National Park 2012 Kyūshū 32,553 hectares (80,440 acres) Shiratani Unsui Gorge 18.jpg
Yanbaru National Park 2016 Kyūshū 13,622 hectares (33,660 acres) Hedo Utaki.jpg
Yoshino-Kumano National Park 1936 Kinki 61,406 hectares (151,740 acres) Hashiguiiwa Stones.jpg

List of quasi-national parks

Hokkaidō

Tōhoku

Kantō

Chūbu

Kansai

Chūgoku and Shikoku

Kyūshū

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jōshin'etsu-kōgen National Park</span> National Park in Chūbu, Japan

Jōshin'etsu-kōgen National Park is a national park in the Chūbu region of the main island of Honshū, Japan formed around several active and dormant volcanoes. It spans the mountainous areas of Gunma, Nagano, and Niigata prefectures. The name refers to the two mountain ranges that make up the park. It was divided into two separate areas: the Southern Niigata/North Nagano Area and the East Nagano Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hidakasanmyaku-Erimo-Tokachi National Park</span>

Hidakasanmyaku-Erimo-Tokachi National Park is a national park in south-central Hokkaido, Japan. Encompassing much of the Hidaka Mountains as well as Cape Erimo, it is the largest in the country by land area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yatsugatake-Chūshin Kōgen Quasi-National Park</span> Quasi-national park in Japan

Yatsugatake-Chūshin Kōgen Quasi-National Park is a quasi-national park on Honshū in Japan. It is rated a protected landscape according to the IUCN. The park includes the Yatsugatake Mountains and the surrounding lava plateaus: Tateshina plateau, Kirigamine, and Utsukushigahara. It straddles the border between Nagano and Yamanashi prefectures. Mount Aka is the highest point in the park at 2,899 m (9,511 ft). The volcanoes of the Yatsugatake mountains erupted from the middle of the Fossa Magna and spread skirts of lava south, east and west. Lake Matsubara, Shirakoma Pond, and Lake Shirakaba attract tourists to the region for boating, skating, and camping. Utsukushigahara is a lava plateau at the northern end of the park and offers views of the Northern Alps. The extensive lava plateau of Kirigahara is popular for hiking. There are also a number of onsens in addition to the hotsprings at Tateshina. The park was designated a quasi-national in 1964.

Niseko-Shakotan-Otaru Kaigan Quasi-National Park is a quasi-national park in the Shiribeshi Subprefecture of Hokkaido, Japan. On the coast of the Sea of Japan, there is a Marine Protected Area covering the west and north coast of Shakotan peninsula from Kamoenai to Otaru. The park also protects the area around the Mount Raiden and Niseko Volcanic Groups. Niseko-Shakotan-Otaru Kaigan Quasi-National Park was established in 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nichinan Kaigan Quasi-National Park</span>

Nichinan Kaigan Quasi-National Park is a Quasi-National Park on the coast of Kagoshima Prefecture and Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. It was founded on 1 June 1955 and has an area of 45.42 km2 (17.54 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nippō Kaigan Quasi-National Park</span> National Park in Japan

Nippō Kaigan Quasi-National Park is a Quasi-National Park on the coast of Ōita and Miyazaki Prefectures, Japan. It was established in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muroto-Anan Kaigan Quasi-National Park</span>

Muroto-Anan Quasi-National Park is a Quasi-National Park on the coast of Kōchi Prefecture and Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. It was founded on 1 June 1964 and has an area of 72.2 km2 (27.9 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kita-Nagato Kaigan Quasi-National Park</span>

Kita-Nagato Kaigan Quasi-National Park is a Quasi-National Park on the coast of Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. It was founded on 1 November 1955 and has an area of 80.21 km2 (30.97 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Echizen-Kaga Kaigan Quasi-National Park</span> Quasi-National Park on the coast of Fukui and Ishikawa Prefectures, Japan

Echizen-Kaga Kaigan Quasi-National Park is a Quasi-National Park on the coast of Fukui and Ishikawa Prefectures, Japan. The park was established in 1968. It is rated a protected landscape according to the IUCN. Like all Quasi-National Parks in Japan, Echizen-Kaga Kaigan Quasi-National Park is managed by the local prefectural governments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minami Sanriku Kinkasan Quasi-National Park</span>

Minami Sanriku Kinkasan Quasi-National Park was a Quasi-National Park on the Pacific coast of northern Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Established in 1979, the park extended along 180 km of the coast of southern Sanriku and encompassed Mount Kinka. On 31 March 2015, in the aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the Park was incorporated into Sanriku Fukkō National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akkeshi-Kiritappu-Konbumori Quasi-National Park</span>

Akkeshi-Kiritappu-Konbumori Quasi-National Park is a Quasi-National Park in eastern Hokkaidō, Japan. Established in 2021, the park spans the municipalities of Akkeshi, Hamanaka, Kushiro, and Shibecha. It subsumes and replaces the former Akkeshi Prefectural Natural Park, established in 1955.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Koshikijima Prefectural Natural Park</span>

Koshikijima Prefectural Natural Park was a Prefectural Natural Park in northwest Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Established in 1981, the park was within the municipality of Satsumasendai. In 2015, the park was subsumed into Koshikishima Quasi-National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chōkai Quasi-National Park</span>

Chōkai Quasi-National Park is a Quasi-National Park in Akita and Yamagata Prefectures, Japan. Established in 1963, the park's central feature is the twin volcano of Mount Chōkai, although it also includes coastal areas of northern Yamagata and southern Akita Prefectures. It is rated a protected landscape according to the IUCN. The landscape of Kisakata, featured in Bashō's Oku no Hosomichi, was transformed by the uplift of land in an earthquake of 1804.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Myōgi-Arafune-Saku Kōgen Quasi-National Park</span> National Park in Nagano

Myōgi-Arafune-Saku Kōgen Quasi-National Park is a Quasi-National Park on the borders of Gunma and Nagano Prefectures, Japan. Established in 1969, the central feature of the park are Mounts Arafune and Myōgi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chūō Alps Quasi-National Park</span> Protected area in Nagano prefecture, Japan

Chūō Alps Quasi-National Park is a Quasi-National Park in southern Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Established in 2020, the park has an area at time of foundation of 351.16 square kilometres (135.58 sq mi), corresponding exactly to that of the former Chūō Alps Prefectural Natural Park (中央アルプス県立自然公園), founded on 22 November 1951, which it supersedes and replaces. The Park's central feature is the Central Alps. Three separate areas of the park span the borders of thirteen municipalities: Achi, Agematsu, Iida, Iijima, Ina, Kiso, Komagane, Matsukawa, Miyada, Nagiso, Ōkuwa, Shiojiri, and Takamori.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanriku Fukkō National Park</span> National Park in Tōhoku, Japan

Sanriku Fukkō National Park is a national park extending along the Sanriku Coast of Japan from Hachinohe in Aomori Prefecture through Iwate Prefecture to Kesennuma in Miyagi Prefecture. The national park was created on 24 May 2013 and covers a land area of 28,537 hectares (110.18 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Myōkō-Togakushi Renzan National Park</span> National Park in Chūbu, Japan

Myōkō-Togakushi Renzan National Park is a national park in Niigata Prefecture and Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Established in 2015, and formerly part of Jōshin'etsu-kōgen National Park, the park comprises an area of 39,772 ha in the municipalities of Itoigawa and Myōkō in Niigata Prefecture and Iizuna, Nagano, Otari, and Shinano in Nagano Prefecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyoto Tamba Kogen Quasi-National Park</span> Quasi-national park of Japan

Kyoto Tamba Kogen Quasi-National Park is a Quasi-National Park in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yambaru National Park</span> National park in the Okinawa Prefecture, Japan

Yambaru National Park is a national park in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Established in 2016, it is located in and around the forested region of Yambaru at the northern end of Okinawa Island. The park comprises a land area of 13,622 ha in the villages of Kunigami, Ōgimi, and Higashi together with 3,670 ha of the surrounding waters. The day of establishment, 15 September, coincides with the anniversary of the 1983 discovery of the endangered endemic Yambaru long-armed scarab beetle .

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amami Guntō National Park</span> Japanese national park

Amami Guntō National Park is a national park in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Established in 2017, the park comprises a land area of 42,181 ha and a sea area of 33,082 ha. The national park includes areas of these islands: Tokunoshima, Kikai, Amami, Yoron, Okinoerabujima, Uke Island, Kakeromajima and Yoroshima.

References

  1. ↑ "Natural Parks Act (1957)" (PDF). Ministry of the Environment . Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  2. ↑ "Natural Park Systems in Japan" (PDF). Ministry of the Environment. pp. 4, 12. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  3. ↑ Kanda Koji. "Landscapes of National Parks in Taiwan During the Japanese Colonial Period" (PDF). Osaka City University . Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  4. ↑ Sutherland, Mary; Britton, Dorothy (1995). National Parks of Japan. Kodansha. pp. 6f. ISBN   4-7700-1971-8.
  5. ↑ "Natural Park Systems in Japan" (PDF). Ministry of the Environment. pp. 1f. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  6. ↑ "Summary table of area figures for Natural Parks" (PDF). Ministry of the Environment. 1 April 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  7. ↑ "Birth of Myoko Togakushi Renzan National Park". Ministry of the Environment. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  8. ↑ やんばる国立公園について [About Yanbaru National Park - Summary] (in Japanese). Ministry of the Environment . Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  9. ↑ 奄美群島国立公園（仮称）の指定及び公園計画の決定等に関する意見の募集について [Consultation about the Establishment of Amami Guntō National Park] (in Japanese). Ministry of the Environment. 6 October 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2011.
  10. ↑ "京都丹波高原国定公園の指定日について" (in Japanese). Ministry of the Environment. 24 March 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  11. ↑ 58カ所目となる国定公園「厚岸霧多布昆布森国定公園」が誕生します [58th Quasi-National Park "Akkeshi-Kiritappu-Konbumori Quasi-National Park" Created] (in Japanese). Ministry of the Environment. 26 March 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  12. ↑ "The 35th National Park "Hidakasanmyaku-Erimo-Tokachi National Park" was born!". Ministry of the Environment. 25 June 2024. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  13. ↑ "Natural Park Systems in Japan" (PDF). Ministry of the Environment. pp. 2f. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
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