Mizubasho no Mori forest located at an elevation of 640 meters is found in wetlands near the Minami Zao Camping Ground.

The flowers of Mizubasho begin to bloom in early April. The neat white flowers announce the coming of spring at the foot of Mt. Minami Zao. More than 50,000 flowers bloom in fully glory over the entire area here. You can appreciate them until about late April. This takes approximately 1 hour. There is also an arbor. It is popular with many people as a place to relax.

Furthermore, the adjacent Dodan no Mori forest is a place where deciduous shrubs grow en masse. You can enjoy a therapeutic walk through the forest because a boardwalk has been set up here. The sweet red bell-shaped redvein enkianthus flowers which lower the tips of the branches start to bloom in late May. The best time to see them is in mid-June.

With the Fubatsu no Mori forest added to these two forests, these three forests are called the Minami Zao Color Forests. They have become a tourist spot where you can experience the nature of Shiroishi. The forests are colored beautifully in each season with Mizubasho (Asian skunk cabbages) in the spring, redvein enkianthus and Japanese yellow roses from May to June, the red fruit of Japanese spindle trees in the fall, and gentiana triflora in September. We recommend taking a walk here at those times.

*The "Dodan Forest" is inaccessible due to the maintenance of the wooden road.