Metasequoia tree avenue (Shiga Prefecture)

A part of the Koarajimakinosawa route is lined with about 500 metasequoia trees along a 2.4km-long straight road. This beautiful road is called the "Metasequoia Avenue.”
The avenue is on the way to Makino Highway, and the tree-lined street and the distant Nosaka Mountains create spectacular scenery.

As a part of a school children farming project called "Makino Soil Learning Village", the first trees were planted by the Makino Town Fruit Tree Growers Union in 1981. Union workers and other residents took care of the trees. Further planting progressed along with the prefectural road development. The current magnificent avenue was completed as the prefecture road grew longer.

Metasequoia is a deciduous tree of the cedar family Metasequoiaceae, native to China, and its Japanese name is Akebono-sugi. It was named metasequoia because of its resemblance to the sequoia, which is said to reach a maximum height of 115 meters. The metasequoia also grows to be a large tree, 15 to 20 meters high and 1.5 meters thick.

The beautiful seasonal appearance keeps bringing more visitors: new leaves in spring, dark green shades in summer, foliage in autumn, and snow-covered trees in winter. It was selected as one of the “100 Roadside Trees of Japan" in 1994.