Actual Conditions of Forest Therapy Roadʼs Utilization and its Contribution to Local Community:

Abstract

Minami-Minowa Village, which has Shinshu Oshiba-plateau Minnanomori certified as the Forest Therapy Road and has the highest population growth rate among the municipalities in Nagano Prefecture. We adopted three methods: a cohort analysis of population changes in Minami-Minowa Village, interviews with key persons like village office staff and patriarchs, and a questionnaire survey for users of the Therapy Road. The main results are as follows: the use of Minami-Minowa Village's therapy road is dominated by neighboring local residents for the purpose of health promotion, and regular and continuous use is carried out at least once a week. It became clear that there are 輪村（３．６％増）の３市町村であり，南箕輪村は長野 県で最も高い人口増加率が認められる村である。２つ の研究目的に関する分析を深めるために，本研究では 南箕輪村の長期的な人口動態も把握することとする。 many users who feel a positive change in mind and body by using it. Based upon the results it was considered that continuous use may lead to a reduction of medical expenses. We have indicated the importance of considering what kind of forest the therapy road should be implemented in, how much intrusion is appropriate for the purpose of the therapy road and the satisfaction of the users and attracting tourists with a view to multiple uses of the therapy area.