Have you heard of the 'Braniigata' event?

As the name suggests, this event aims to rediscover the charms of towns from various perspectives by wandering around with many people in different parts of Niigata Prefecture.

It is organised by the City of Niigata "NPO Machizukuri Gakko". This NPO develops human resources involved in town planning and supports activities.

This time I took part in the Braniigata in the West District in May. Here is a report on the event and a subjective view of what it was like.

'Participation in the Niigata Dunes West End Course.'

This time I took part in the 'Niigata Dunes West End' course.

The subtitle reads: 'Step over the western end of Japan's longest Niigata sand dune'.

Perhaps you might be thinking, "Did Niigata City ever have sand dunes?" Some people may think "Niigata City has dunes?

In fact, Niigata has one of the largest sand dune areas in Japan, stretching 70 km from the Iwafune area in Murakami City in the north to the foot of Mount Kakuda in Nishigama Ward in the south.

Such places of interest in Niigata are explored by Braniigata.

This time, we will walk in the Nishi-ku - Nishigama-ku of Niigata City, which is the western edge of the area.

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In-depth commentary by a guide.

The starting point this time is the Sagata Waterbird and Wetland Centre.

The meeting place is Sagata Park on the banks of Sagata, Nishi-ku, Niigata City.

Masako Yamaga, Executive Director of the NPO Community Development School.

The session starts with a greeting by Ms Masako Yamaga, Secretary General of the City Planning School. After a brief orientation, we will get started.

One of the key points of Braniigata is that the guides are people who know the area well and can teach you in an easy-to-understand way.

The guide for this tour is Professor Sawaguchi of Niigata University of International and Information Studies. His speciality is geomorphology. The other guide is Kazuhiro Ota. He is a historical guide for Akatsuka and Sagata.

So begins an expedition around the 'terrain' with in-depth commentary by professionals in the field.

The aim is to become a 'tree of concern'.

Route to be followed this time (from "Walking along the western edge of the Braniigata Niigata dunes" produced by Prof Shinichi Sawaguchi).

'We're going to the Tree of Concern over there.'

Sawaguchi-sensei points to a large tree in the distance, which is vaguely visible.

Where, where...?

There it is! That's the thing in the small centre of the photo!

There is a TV commercial by a certain company, familiar with the phrase "This tree, what tree, what tree, what tree, what tree, what tree". There is a large 'curious tree' that appears in the commercial, and it does indeed have a form like an umbrella.

There seems to be a point around this tree that Dr Sawaguchi and Mr Ota would like you to see.

A lot of things you would never know if you didn't walk.

Finally, the start.

With the documents in hand, they continue along the paths around Sagata, where the fields are spread out.

At first you pass through paved roads in residential areas, gradually entering farm roads. The atmosphere gradually becomes more adventurous..!

Along the way, the group stops several times at observation points, which are also mentioned in the documentation, to receive a lecture on the land.

(Photo courtesy of Prof Shinichi Sawaguchi)

For example, here. At first glance, it looks like an ordinary sandy area, but it is what is known as a 'terrain boundary'.

Sandy coastal landforms can be divided into two main types: dunes, which are formed by the wind, and beach dikes, which are deposited by waves. It is quite rare to see both.

According to Dr Sawaguchi, dunes and beach dykes have very different properties.

Professor Shinichi Sawaguchi, Niigata University of International and Information Studies

What? I didn't know such a landscape existed! The pure amazement was continuous.

When you actually walk through the area, you will find that there are more differences in altitude than you can imagine, and vast wheat fields that will make you think you are in France! and vast wheat fields that almost give you the illusion that you are in France.

Golden wheat fields!

The author lives in Nishi Ward, Niigata City, so he had been to the neighbourhood where he walked this time several times. However, most of the time I just drove through (and never noticed any trees of interest).

It is of course an opportunity to find out things you didn't know before and to satisfy your intellectual curiosity, but it is also so much fun to experience it by walking! I honestly thought.

Intellectual curiosity is fully satisfied!

See here.

'Vulcanoid dunes', 'parabolic dunes', 'Balhan dunes'...

If you know what I'm talking about at once, you must have studied topography at university or be quite an enthusiast! LOL!

Words that ordinary people would not normally see pop up one after another. There is even a term in Chinese characters, 'dikema wetland', but I have no idea what it means at all...

However, as Dr Sawaguchi and Mr Ota's explanations are easy to understand, one by one the knowledge increases, saying "Oh, I didn't realise that". This is also fun.

For example, 'parabolic dunes'. Parabolic is Japanese for 'parabola'. Parabolic dunes are formed when the wind blows off the sea.

'When the wind blows on the sand like this, holla! ', he covered the clipboard in his hand with sand, and took a boo-boo breath! He quickly recreated the parabolic terrain as shown in the handout.

A very clear explanation!

If you think about it, the area from Nishi-ku to Nishikaga-ku in Niigata City is an area where strong sea breezes blow from the Sea of Japan in winter. As anyone who has driven along Route 402 along the coast can easily imagine, the sea wind still blows large amounts of sand, sometimes even reaching the road.

(Photo courtesy of Prof Shinichi Sawaguchi)

After crossing a ridge of sand dunes, a sheer cliff is suddenly in front of you.

Parabolic dunes created by the sea winds. They have been there for so long that they are covered with dense greenery that you wouldn't notice them if you were just walking along normally. Just a cliff? What do you think?

The terrain, which is usually overlooked, has some significance.

And here we are at last! The Tree of Concern, our destination.

This area is said to be a particularly interesting place in the topography of the western end of the Niigata Dunes. Why is this?

Kazuhiro Ota, Akatsuka and Sagata historical guide.

The landforms formed by landslides are said to be found in this area. The area just around where the 'Tree of Concern' is located is where the dynamic landform changes occurred.

Sagata used to look completely different!

The surrounding terrain has a significant impact on the Sagata itself.

In fact, the landslide had a significant impact on Sagata. Sagata is thought to have once been almost rectangular in shape, but is now narrower in the western half.

The landslide caused a huge amount of sand to be swept into the area, which has drastically changed the shape of the northern bank.

The participants were often surprised to find themselves saying things like, "Well, I've been told that...", and they were also able to say things like, "Wow! Wow!" The participants were most excited about this.

The area of trees of concern was one of the highlights of the Braniigata.

Encounters with rare spots

The interesting thing about braniagata is that you can walk in valuable places that you would not normally enter just by living a normal life.

View from 'Eagle Mountain'.

For example, Echigo-Tsumari, a 50 m high mountain with a wide view of the Echigo-Tsumari Plain.

Walking around the area, it looks like an ordinary hill, to say the least (laughs)! But it is a place with a proper name. When I climbed up, I was surprised to find that the view was also fantastic, and in a good way.

You will like Niigata more.

I thought the biggest point was this.

Books, newspapers and websites are full of information about Niigata. It is precisely because we live in such an age that walking around with your own feet, seeing with your own eyes and feeling with your own body is becoming even more important than it used to be.

I think that people do not give much thought to things that they take for granted. How did the land we take for granted, Niigata, come to be? I think this will be a good opportunity to think about that for a little while!

Incidentally, walking quite a distance may also be a key point. This time, the walking distance was about 7 km, although it took the form of a circle around the dunes around Sagata. It's also a good opportunity to exercise! (Laughs.

The school holds monthly meetings, so if you are interested, please contact the Community Development School for more information.

This is a popular event with a number of full houses, so if you are interested, be quick!

Event information: braniigta 2017.

• Organiser: NPO Community Development School
• Office address: 5-8-22 Aoyama, Nishi-ku, Niigata City, Niigata Prefecture, Japan.
• Telephone number: 025-201-9320
• Email: info@machikou.com
• http://www.machikou.com/