It stands at 1,729 meters, and its mountainside has a wide-reaching Japanese beech tree forest. In late October, the trees turn beautiful colors and produce berries and seeds. All kinds of birds ...

In just about every pamphlet I obtained regarding Shirakami-Sanchi, I kept reading about Philipp Franz von Siebold’s beech, a native Japanese tree. Siebold? I muttered to myself, “Who is this ...