A small town with a population of 7,000, located in the least-populated prefecture in Japan, Tottori

Chizu Town, of which more than 90% of the total area is mountain forests, is completely covered with greenery, primarily the Japanese cedar. In the Edo period (1603 – 1868), it flourished as a post-station town for people entering and leaving the town, and some of the townscape and architecture still remain from back then.

Momonga (Japanese flying squirrels) live in subalpine forests from Honshu (the main land of Japan) to the Shikoku and Kyushu regions. They eat nuts, buds, fruits and tree bark. They are nocturnal in habit. They are an endangered species in Tottori Prefecture, seen living in the cedar forests in Ashizu in Chizu Town.