BBC World News documentary

BBC is making a series of short documentaries designed to highlight aspects of Japanese life to BBC

World News and BBC online’s large global audience.

On September 21, 2009, the film team interviewed Dr. Qing Li to make one of the films about

Shinrin Yoku and his work in this area at Akasawa natural recreation forest, the birthplace of Shinrin

Yoku (forest bathing) in Japan.

The Akasawa Natural Recreation Forest is a coniferous forest centered on "Kiso Hinoki (Kiso

Cypress)". The main tree species are "Hinoki (Hinoki Cypress)", "Sawara (Sawara Cypress)",

"Nezuko (Japanese thuja)", "Asunaro (Thujopsis dolobrata)" and "Kouyamaki (Japanese

umbrella-pine)". These five trees are called "Kiso Goboku (five sacred trees of Kiso)" and are

carefully protected.

The trees are about 350 to 400 years old and you are able to enjoy a seasonal forest mixed with

broadleaf trees.

In 2006, Dr. Qing Li conducted a three-day/two-night forest bathing experiment in the Akasawa

Natural Recreation Forest and found that a forest bathing trip increased human natural killer (NK)

activity, number of NK cells and levels of intracellular anti-cancer proteins, and reduced stress

hormone (adrenaline) and that this effect lasted for 30 days after the forest bathing. These findings

were published in 2008 as follows:

Li Q et al. Visiting a forest, but not a city, increases human natural killer activity and expression of

anti-cancer proteins. Int J Immunopathol Pharmacol. 2008 Jan-Mar;21(1):117-27.

(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18336737)

Dr. Qing Li was explaining the procedure of Shinrin-yoku and was conducting a test on subject

before Shinrin-yoku

Dr. Qing Li was explaining the results of Shinrin-yoku experiment conducted in 2006

Subjects were walking in the forest

Dr. Qing Li was explaining the effects of Shinrin-yoku on human health

（文責 李卿）