Welcome to Shirakami-Sanchi !

Shirakami-Sanchi Mountain Range is a 321 acre pristine beech tree forest (buna) located in the northern part of Honshu along the border between Akita and Aomori Prefectures. Added to Unesco’s World Heritage List in 1993, Shirakami-Sanchi is one of the world’s largest primeval beech forests and provides an important habitat for indigenous animals and vegetation.






The Japanese serow (mountain goat), the Japanese macaque (Japanese snow monkey) and the Tsukinowa bear, as well the endangered birds, the inuwashi (golden eagle), kumagera (black woodpecker) and kumataka (mountain hawk) all make Shirakami-Sanchi their home. There are also more than 2000 species of insects and approximately 500 species of vegetation. The Ou, Anmon, Akashi, Oirase, Sasauchi and Kasuge rivers flow through the mountain range and are separated by mountain ridges which reach as high as 4,000 feet.

The Anmon-no-taki waterfalls encompass breathtaking scenery and are one of the forest’s most popular tourist destinations. Anmon-no-taki is accessible by a nature trail which begins at the Shirakami Range Visitor’s Center. There, visitors can learn more about this pristine forest through its many exhibition halls and interpretive center. Admission is free and the park is open between 9 and 5 daily except Mondays and national holidays.








On October 7, 2001, the Aomori and Akita Prefectures issued the Shirakami-Sanchi proclamation.

• Shirakami-Sanchi is the nucleus of a natural world in which forests, rivers, and the sea spread in a variegated circle of life. We will never cease to admire the wonders of Nature that originate here.

• Shirakami-Sanchi is a place for meditation. By allowing the peace of the natural beech forest to sink into us, we will be moved by new emotions and think more deeply about ourselves.



• Shirakami-Sanchi is a natural museum. Filled with gratitude that these venerable woods have been passed down to us, each of us will follow the rules so the beauty of the natural beech forest may be preserved.

The other World Heritage sites in Japan are the Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area (1993), Himeji-jo (1993), Yakushima (1993), the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities) (1994), the Historic Villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama (1995), Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome) (1996), Itsukushima Shinto Shrine (1996), the Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara (1998), Shrines and Temples of Nikko (1999), Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu (2000), and the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range (2004). (Dates indicate when each were designated World Heritage sites.)

JapanCorner 2005