On Japan’s northernmost island, the Tokachi Millennium Forest is an ambitious and visionary environmental conservation project, with a 1000-year sustainable vision. Intended by entrepreneur Mitsushige Hayashi to offset the carbon footprint of his national newspaper business, the park is spread out across a plateau and the wooded foothills of Hokkaido’s central Hidaka mountain range. 

Hayashi’s vision for the park is intended to halt the loss of natural habitat on Hokkaido, and to cultivate a deeper appreciation of nature by offering Japan’s mainly urban population the chance to engage with the landscape, forest, gardens and farms. We were asked to develop a masterplan alongside local landscape designer, Fumiaki Takano, to meet Hayashi’s vision and then design a number of gardens to serve as visitor attractions and destinations within the forest. 

The Earth Garden creates a connection between a family restaurant and the impressive mountains beyond, with undulating land forms that create a series of dynamic waves in the grassland. These are intended to arouse visitors’ curiosity, provide a soft playscape for children and invite them to explore the wider landscape. The ornamental Meadow Garden offers bold sweeps of colourful massed perennials, many of which are Japanese natives found growing in the Entrance Forest. This garden provides a landscape of delight and wonder, introducing visitors to the region’s native flora and fauna in a heightened aesthetic environment.