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welcome to Shikoku right now I'm in
coach prefecture along the shimanto
dollar the shimanto River this is the
longest river in Shikoku and the
cleanest in Japan it's the last of its
kind which makes it very special in this
episode we're going to be looking at
some of the activities that you can do
here but first let's see this river from
the air in the spring before the
mountain snow melts the waters are calm
er a beautiful emerald green the fresh
green leaves sprout from trees on the
surrounding hills the Chaumont Ogawa is
away from major cities and has no dams
meaning it's free flowing from source to
sea a reason this river is considered
the last clean waterway in Japan the
river meanders around Cochise Hills
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you'll find kayaks and houseboats
cruising the lower parts Japan is a
mountainous country and the rivers are
historical places of Industry here for
logging paper and fishing it's the
center of life both for humans and
wildlife and the residents want to keep
it that way
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where is the shimanto River it's on
Shikoku Island the smallest of Japan's
four main islands Kochi Prefecture is
along the Pacific Ocean to the west of
coach cities where you'll find the
Shimano River
it's an s-shaped River originating at
Higashi Tzu no village and exiting into
the Pacific nearly 200 kilometers away
the best way to get around the area is
by rent-a-car from Kochi zhuoma Airport
I picked up the toyota mark X for a
drive to the countryside from the
highway to the one lane country road
through the forests driving here is
peaceful and the roads rarely crowded
like in Tokyo and Osaka I made it to the
first destination hotel SATA shimanto
overlooking the river
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this hotel is a mix of Japanese and
Western style with the tatami room the
view outside the window was spectacular
a peaceful shimanto river that flows
through Nishi Tosa town of shimanto city
some kayakers are out to explore the
calm river on a peaceful spring morning
it's one of the activities here but
certainly not the only one
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boats are a way to get around especially
when the waters are high you'll find
covered boat tours like here but if you
want to explore the river without a car
you can rent a mountain bike at several
places along the river like here at
canoe huh
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all right so we've rented a bicycle it's
1,500 yen about $15 now we're gonna be
riding around the Chaumont Ogawa and see
what we see I've heard that this is one
of the best ways to see the river let's
go make sure you take a couple bottles
of water with you there aren't many
vending machines out there in nature the
main roads offer wide open views long
landscapes around the hills down there
is a Ching Kobashi or sinking bridge
they're designed low like this so they
can't be washed away by flooding they
also make drivers a little uneasy so you
may prefer crossing by bicycle it's easy
just go straight and don't look down
there are no railings here to save you
do you see me crossing down there
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there are 47 crossing the Chaumont Ogawa
and the ching Kobashi is preserved as
one of Kochi prefectures cultural
heritage you don't find them anywhere
else
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I'm here to eat there's a really nice
restaurant just around the corner
the shimanto rivers produce are
outstanding and local restaurants like
this one in a small town have become
famous to travelers this one is called
Sheyenne GT the name comes from the
local Kochi dialect meaning vegetable
fields so it's not hard to understand
the concept here it's a chance to track
traditional area foods made by local
grannies I got here a little after the
lunch rush the food is super healthy
homemade with many options for
vegetarians tasting local foods is an
important part of travel around Japan
and this place is a gem
this is such a treat because all of the
ingredients here is made locally by the
old ladies who live here and that's
pretty unique you can see that there's
not a lot of restaurant options along
the highways here in Shikoku but the
ones that you do find are pretty special
it directly mas off to our main
destination you Suhana which is a little
off the river in the mountains
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it's one of japan's old towns that have
been renovated with inspirational
designs cafes wider avenues and is
attracting younger people to return to
Kochi to live a more relaxed lifestyle
in the hills with nature the main road
used to be narrow thirty years ago lined
with metal poles to protect houses from
logging trucks speeding by now it's wide
open and feels relaxed a place you can
stroll comfortably at night the you
Suhana library is one of the most
beautiful in Japan designed by architect
Kengo kuma whose designs connect with
nature through Japanese aesthetics the
use of wood here makes me feel like I'm
under the canopy in the forest every
corner of the library is something
special to look at
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I traveled into the forest and hills
nearby to meet a master of making
washing Japanese paper visitors can stay
here while learning the craft from him
from my room at Kimiko yeah I had an
impressive view of a quiet valley this
tatami rooms walls papered in washi -
this is Roger who's been making handmade
paper since 1981 in Kochi his paper and
craft has won many awards and gotten the
attention of architect Kengo kuma who
uses his paper in various projects the
texture and style put this beyond just
simple paper it can include foliage like
a fern leaf for seeds washi paper can
also be quite thick and have different
uses like for wallpaper or even handbags
and clothing in this workshop Roger will
teach me to make a sheet of washi that I
can use as a lamp
I'll get the chance to add some of the
surrounding nature to make it my own
design we start by walking right outside
his show through your harvest in the
winter and the branches you bring inside
here you steam attack I can show this
later
branches you could an arm here we feel
this water make a fire from below there
and cover this barrel this big one here
to the dark and steam those fresh
branches the steamed branches are peeled
and dried this is the foundation of
washi paper it takes a lot of time to
make this by hand
Roger uses the traditional manufacturing
technique called Tosa washi which is 100
percent sustainable but it takes a lot
of time and work and skill to make yeah
so that's why real traditional mate why
she's very expensive well because we
thousand yen or more for one sheet it's
just normal
it's all done labor it's all the work
the dried branches are moistened again
you can see the fibers it sticks
together still it's time to get started
some mountain water is put on top of the
wooden board where it'll be beaten the
purpose is to separate the fibers and
make them longer it's done in a rhythm
several times then put into water like
this just this becomes the washi paper
pulp next we go outside to look for
natural ingredients to add to the washi
paper basically you can pick any thing
in nature in nature yes bright little
small branches or leaves fresh green or
dried you can make like Japanese food
Kaka like like a crumb bolt this will
give it some unique characteristics
looks like this back in the studio
Raja showed me the variety of okra
found in kochi used to create slime this
slime is important because when mixed
with water it helps it move more
smoothly and evenly like this viscous
water mixed with your pulp
so only slimy liquid water we want this
line we want to slime we need we need
the slime and again this is edible see
it flows very thin layer you almost
can't see it but there is a very thin
layer of a fiber here the water with the
fibers and slime flow over the filter
the water drains leaving the fibers
behind it goes after a few cups you can
see the fibers joined together to make a
thin layer of paper so now you can see
clearly that there's something there now
it's time to add some nature to the
washing so yeah I brought some stuff
yeah this nice but this is a little bit
too white so you should and then just
start arranging it and then I can push
like this and then flatten it a little
bit with nature after placing it where
you like another layer of fibers is
added which locks it in
I added some color to my washing with
pulp mix with other natural ingredients
this gives the washi paper more
characteristics okay
so till you're finished yeah okay works
for me
and then just maybe to show you how that
there's so much water it's so wet excess
water is blotted and drained from the
filter it's then pressed to remove any
remaining water from the paper I like it
it's it is nice the cut good balance
then peeled and glued to a board to be
dried for up to a week after the wash
iasts at in the Sun for a while you can
see how the final sheet will look like
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then it's protected by the resident cat
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no mice here I talked with Roger about
how the area impacts his craft and his
own connection to coaching was not only
the paper but I think the the culture
maybe within two weeks I decided to stay
the culture the food the nature
especially and I only got a glimpse of
it but people told me about the
connection between the craft and nature
and that was something quite new for me
that it depend the paper his the paper
culture really plan on the nature on the
plants on and that they use plans for
paper I mean it was all so when
producing paper in the traditional way
he's dependent on the natural world
around him I mean for bleaching if
there's no Sun you cannot bleach if it's
a cold year then the plants don't grow
well if so if you want to like we are
doing here now if you want to dry the
paper you need sunshine so every day
every step depends so much on nature on
the weather on the climate and and not
only the fiber just during the process
you all the time have to adjust to that
they did the weather of the day or the
climate of that period so one reason
that makes Kochi and the shimanto region
a paper Center for washi is its strong
connection to nature which is a perfect
home for Roger and his family Kochi
prefect his reputation for clean
environment is well-deserved
residents live in harmony with the
waterways and rivers
wildlife here like in dragonfly Park
thrive around the shimanto River the
shimanto River provides delicious
produce livestock and fishing and the
residents respect the environment with
sustainable logging and business
practices enriching life and the economy
but more and more the river is
attracting tourism with people
interested in Japan's cultural
connections with nature from adventure
sports to washi paper making or just
driving around to eat good food the
river really is the life of the area
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Samanta river or Chaumont Ogawa here in
Kochi is truly a beautiful place it's
easy to fall in love with this area
there's loads of things to see and do
here so if you do make the trip here to
Kochi you will not regret it if you
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