Prior to the full opening in December, we have started accepting reservations in advance. GOOD NATURE HOTEL KYOTO " This hotel has a courtyard, and the courtyard itself is greened by green walls on all sides, creating a space that gives visitors peace and comfort. The wall greening together with us is the “5x green (gobaimiri)” that uses the “satoyama unit” that we have developed to tackle urban greening and environmental conservation. Mr. Ikumi Miyata, the representative, talks about the reasons why greening is necessary in Kyoto and other Japanese urban areas, as well as “city greening that reproduces the scenery of satoyama,” which can only be dealt with by “5 × green”. I asked.

Greenery is needed in urban areas now.

Currently, urban areas in Japan are under development, and many buildings and facilities are being built in exchange for nature. While life is becoming richer and more convenient, it is also true that nature has been lost from within the city. With the increase in the number of roads and buildings made of concrete along with buildings, these artificial structures and the heat island phenomenon that heat is rising due to exhaust heat are affecting the ecosystem.

In such lands, it is difficult to grow various plants, and it is difficult for green landscapes to grow or even to secure the soil. In order to restore the green scenery unique to Japan to such urban areas, the project using the "Satoyama Unit" developed independently is "5 x Green", of which Hiromi Miyata is the representative.

Miyata: When I used to work as a consultant for city planning and business planning related to cities, I had many opportunities to work with people involved in environmental design and landscape design. Then I met a landscape designer Mr. Tase, who had a solid concept of "reviving local vegetation". There are many barriers and limitations to greening cities that tend to be ill-conditioned, such as no soil, no water, and no nutrition. The system that Mr. Tase built the foundation was only used at the site where Mr. Tase designed at that time. If it can be used by other designers, the world will be full of green. With that in mind, based on Mr. Tase and his system, we also started a project called “5 × Green”.

This time we GOOD NATURE HOTEL KYOTO The important thing in opening the store was that the visitors were able to feel the richness of nature and enjoy a relaxing stay while staying at the hotel.

Shijo Kawaramachi It is called Kyoto Surrounded by greenery while staying at the center of downtown area, we often put ourselves in a time separated from everyday life.

We want to meet customers on a large green wall that wraps up the body from the moment we step into the hotel. From that thought, we decided to start a wall greening project with us “5 × Green”.

Urban greening of “5 × green” that enriches ecosystems.

What is important in working on urban greening is “5 × greenery,” “Recreate the landscape of the village and restore the season to the city”. One of the reasons why I can not feel the season in my life is one of the reasons that urbanization has made Japan's plants less familiar, says Miyata. In order to restore the lost landscape, "5 x green" protects "select plants to be planted from Japanese native species".

For example Kyoto Then, "This is Kyoto To create a place where Kyoto Greening is promoted with the image of moving villages where many native species are growing into the urban landscape as it is ("native species" refers to native Japanese plants native to the area ).

Here, the “Satoyama Unit” combines a cage and a wire mesh that can be used for light-weight, highly water-retaining artificial lightweight soil and side planting, which the “5 × Green” independently developed for urban greening is. In this unit, some of the native species native to the area are mixed to reproduce a small village. And by combining the units, it is the true essence of "5 x green" that it will be possible to green the entire wall of a large urban building.

Miyata: The landscape of Satoyama has tall trees, medium shrubs and undergrowths, and it is a nostalgic scenery for Japanese people who have been protected for a long time by human maintenance. Biodiversity is protected there, but now it is broken, and it is now said that 25% of Japanese native species are endangered. By selecting and planting native species, we believe that we can improve such environmental problems and convey the importance of green to Japanese people. So, if the environment allows it, we are trying to reproduce the original view of the village by mixing various plants.

In Japan, there is only "5 x green" that we are promoting urban greening under the concept of "reproduce the satoyama." In order to reproduce a satoyama, not only learning the plants inhabited there, but also examining the potential natural vegetation of the target area and vegetation until the 1960s. In addition, we are facing urban greening without giving up time and effort anyway, such as prior breeding to grow plants to a certain extent so that plants can be adapted to the roof and inside of the building.

It is a place where living creatures have long been popular in Japan, and by reproducing the native vegetation that is the basis of the ecosystem in each area, you have the opportunity to see the appearance of insects and birds that inhabit the area. It can be said that the increase is also an attraction unique to urban greening that "5 x green" deals with.

Miyata: There is no such thing if foreign species are totally useless. However, it is possible to enrich the ecosystem by planting native species. By wall greening of small village mountain made with the native species, Kyoto I think it is our current mission to feel the nature and the sense of the season.

By planting the plants that originally grew on the land, it can be bred without difficulty, and the greenery grows further as time goes on. “5 × Green”, which is subject to change over time and promotes greening with time on the side. Scheduled to open in December GOOD NATURE HOTEL KYOTO `` In addition to customers staying at the hotel, everyone who uses the reception, lobby and cafe can feel relaxed while surrounded by a lot of greenery while in the city, I want to enjoy the courtyard that is not GOOD NATURE.