[Location]
Suizenji Park, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto City, and Kuwamizu-honcho, Higashi-ku, etc.
[Overview]
Locals enjoy recreational activities such as fishing and rowing in Ezu Lake, whose waters are replenished to the tune of 40 tons a day. Nearby is Suizenji Jyojyu-en, a park with a tea house which was once the garden of Hosokawa, a feudal lord. The Kengun Water Source, which supplies tap water for a quarter of all Kumamoto citizens, can also be found in this area.
Environmental education, cleaning campaigns, and environmental research are frequently provided by local citizens, scholars, NPOs, local industries, and many other organizations. Water conservation programs such as reforestation, forest protection, and recharging of paddy fields are also in practice in the upstream reaches of this area.
Mt. Kinbo Spring-fed Area (Kinbo-zan Yusui Gun)
[Location]
Nishi-ku, Kumamoto City (Kawachi, Matsuo, Shimasaki, Hanazono, etc.), Tamana city (Tensui -machi)
[Overview]
There are 20 spring-fed spots around Mt. Kinbo. (Of them 19 are in Kumamoto City and one is in Tamana city.)
The area features the following points of interest: Lake Tensui, whose waters provided refreshment to the Meiji Emperor when he visited Kyushu; Choko-en, the tea house of the ruling Hosokawa clan; Unganzenji temple and Reigando Cave, where Miyamoto Musashi wrote “The Book of Five Rings”; and the serene landscape of Jyodoji temple, which was visited by famous artists and the famed writer Soseki Natsume.
Local residents in these areas made tourist maps of the areas which show the sites of springs. These maps are used to promote local festivals and the area in general. An NPO also provides hiking programs and education which makes clear the importance of conservation of nature.