Expo 2005 in Aichi will be located in two different areas: Nagakute (158 hectares) and Seto (15 hectares). More than half of each area is being left in its original wooded state, and this will bring visitors into close contact with Japan's woodlands. Here, they can explore a natural world where humans and nature live in harmony.

The forests here have developed through human activities—in the old days, people would come to cut underbrush, collect wild edible plants and mushrooms, and take wood to make charcoal. The forest in the Seto Area, called Kaisho no Mori, provided fuel for local pottery kilns for many years, and people developed it into a sustainable woodland for this purpose.

Hirayama Kazuki works at the Expo site construction office and is in charge of the upcoming Nature Experience Program. He says, "Over the centuries, the people conserved the woodland that we are incorporating into the sites. They knew that forests are a treasure house of nature—for example, trees clean the air and their roots store water, keeping it from flowing too quickly off the slopes. If they had let trees choke to death by growing too close together, in the end there might have been landslides and flooding. They had to keep the forests healthy through selective cutting. Now, the forest is ideal to show visitors the intricate relationship between people and woodlands."

The Nature Experience Program that Hirayama and his staff are developing will examine the specific characteristics of woodlands in the two areas. A Forest Walk will have "interpreters" who will "translate" the messages nature sends us. Worksheets will help visitors learn on their own about natural phenomena as they stroll through the woods. Hands-on sessions will show how to make crafts using wood and clay from the forest.

Hirayama says, "The staff and I hope many, many visitors will gain a greater appreciation of nature, and the need to protect it and let it develop."

Part of Kaisho no Mori Forest spreads over a wide area within the city limits of Seto. Hayashida Masayoshi, an avid photographer since his youth, has been coming here for the last 10 years from his home in Nagoya, about one hour away. He often arrives before dawn and stays in the woods until the sun goes down.

"In the forest, the air smells sweet, and it's just a great place to be. That's what attracted me here at first. At times I would see something astoundingly beautiful, so I'd take some pictures. That made me enjoy myself more, and so I keep coming back."

The forest in the morning glow, young leaves shimmering in the sunlight, the fall colors—these are just some of the wonders of nature featured in his book of photographs, The Four Seasons of Kaisho no Mori Forest (published December 2000). The photos are impressive and have attracted more hikers to the area.

"The forest developed well because people cut the underbrush and pruned some branches. Because people came here into the hills, the forest grew into an integral part of rural life. It's great that the Expo will bring many more people here to enjoy it."

Hayashida says the trees will always keep pulling him back.

Years ago, there were many beautifully terraced rice fields between Kaisho no Mori Forest and nearby villages. But over the last 20 or 30 years most of the fields have been abandoned. Where reeds and other weeds took over, the land became a wilderness.

So some locals got together and formed Project Kome ("The Rice Project"). They repaired some of the fields and began growing rice without chemical pesticides. In 2003, about 300 square meters were under cultivation, yielding several kilograms of an old variety of rice and about 60 kilograms of a glutinous variety of rice. This year they repaired another 400 square meters or so and planted more rice. They hope to improve the nearby wooded hilly area as well.

Fuyuki Yutaka represents the group: "We try to keep the old-timers' reverence for life as part of the grand scheme of nature. That kind of lifestyle gives nature a chance to become more bountiful, and makes us humans more healthy and energetic. But we're not trying to be philosophical about all this—the idea is to get muddy in the rice fields and experience nature the way the old-timers did."

The re-creation of a bit of old Japan in the hills will expose Expo 2005 visitors to the wisdom of conserving the diversity of nature. For visitors who cannot get out to see the fields, the group plans to set up video monitors in the pavilion area and transmit real-time images of work in the rice fields.