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THe 374th Civil Engineer Squadron Environmental Office hosted a nature and history exploration walking tour, known as an eco-tour, for 25 citizens of Inagi City at the Tama Service Annex, Inagi City, Tokyo, Oct. 23, 2019. As a protected and secured area for the U.S. military’s natural and historical cultural resources, this facility has been left almost untouched for more than 70 years, providing tour attendees a rare glimpse into the past.
With the facility’s opening in 1937 as the former Japanese Imperial Army arms and ammunitions, Itabashi facility, the Tama-branch Factory came to be known as the “Tama Arsenal” after the land was ceded to the U.S. Army in 1946. Although no longer in use, still to this day the bunkers used to store munitions, wooden buildings, tunnels, a boiler plant, retaining walls made from stone combined with concrete, and ruins of air-raid shelters from the former arsenal facility era remain, standing the test of time.
The tour itself began with a walk through the forest to the Tama Arsenal area. As attendees progressed further into the forest, the scenery changed completely. From the initial road to a path covered with fallen leaves and moss, it was if the forest was welcoming them with the sound of birdsongs, the murmur of a stream, and the sound of leaves swaying in the wind. It was amidst that welcoming tune of the forest that the group began to hear the stories of the many rare plants and creatures inhabiting the forest from the eco-tour leader as well as the story of the biological investigation conducted by the US military day and night at this very location.
With the tour moving closer to their destination, the historic buildings scattered hidden in the overgrown bush began to take center stage, providing tour goers a chance to rediscover a world forgotten.
| Date Taken: | 11.01.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 11.01.2019 01:12 |
| Category: | Video Productions |
| Video ID: | 719243 |
| VIRIN: | 191101-F-PM645-0001 |
| Filename: | DOD_107395544 |
| Length: | 00:02:03 |
| Location: | YOKOTA AIR BASE, TOKYO, JP |
| Downloads: | 3 |
| High-Res. Downloads: | 3 |
This work, Tama Hills Eco-Tour, by Yasuo Osakabe, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
