Okuike ( 奥池)（おくいけ） is a small lake, with adjoining reservoir lake "Okuyama Chosuichi" and surrounding high-class residential area located in Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. It is close to the major cities of

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...

and

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

and is part of the

Kansai The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshu, Honshū. The region includes the Prefectures of Japan, prefectures of Nara Prefecture, Nara, Wakayama Prefecture, Wakayama, Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto, Osaka Prefectur ...

region of Japan. Okuike is located on a height of about 500–600 meters above sea level on the Southern aspect, and towards the Eastern part of

Mount Rokkō is the name of a range of mountains in southeastern Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Outline There is no single mountain or peak called "Rokkō," although the highest peak of the mountains is called , (literally, ''the highest peak of the Rokkō ...

(六甲山, Rokkō-san). The "village" of Okuike has around 730 properties and is often referred to as the "

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...

of Japan", Okuike has an excellent natural landscape in residential areas due to regulations such as Japan's only "Mansion Ordinance" and the Natural Parks Act and the fact that building can only be constructed on existing plots of land and no subdivision can occur. The altitude of Okuike means there are far reaching views, sometimes of 100 km or more, across Osaka Bay towards

Nara prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the northwest, Wakayama P ...

, Wakayama prefecture, Awajishima, Shikoku,

Kansai International Airport Kansai International Airport ( ja, 関西国際空港, Kansai Kokusai Kūkō) commonly known as is the primary international airport in the Greater Osaka Area of Japan and the closest international airport to the cities of Osaka, Kyoto, and K ...

, Akashi Kaikyō Bridge (明石海峡大橋, Akashi Kaikyō Ōhashi) and the

Seto Inland Sea The , sometimes shortened to the Inland Sea, is the body of water separating Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū, three of the four main islands of Japan. It serves as a waterway connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan. It connects to Osaka ...

National Park. Access is by the toll road (Royu Parkway / Royu Driveway).

History

Okuike Lake was completed in the

Edo Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...

era (around 1841) after more than 20 years of difficult excavation work by Sarumaru Matazaemon Yasutoki, the Ashiya village chief at that time, with a wish to save the villagers who had been suffering from water shortage. Okuyama Reservoir was completed beside Okuike Lake in 1972. Both are still utilized as a water source by Ashiya City. In the 1960s the present Royu Parkway or (Royu Driveway) road was constructed and development of Okuike started. At first the buildings in Okuike were all company owned retreats, but in the early to mid 1970's the first private residential houses were built. After this more private houses were constructed and Okuike started to transform for a corporate retreat area, to a residential area. With a regular bus service and close proximity to Ashiya City, it is a very convenient place to live for many people. Now Okuike is mostly private residential property.

Geography

Divided into two small districts of Okuike cho and Okuike Minami cho, Okuike sits at approximately 34° North and 135° East, at an altitude of between 500 and 600 meters on the Southern Aspect towards the Eastern end of Mount Rokko In Hyogo Prefecture,

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separ ...

Island in Japan. The Rokko Mountains are a very steep range (Rokko-zan peak 931 meters) located largely within the city limits of

, but also covers parts of neighboring cities and towns such as Ashiya City. The range is largely constructed of the Late Cretaceous Rokko Granite. Various streams converge feed into the main Okuike lake which in turn serves as a feeder for the Ashiyagawa (Ashiya River) which flows down the mountain and through Ashiya city and into Osaka Bay. This location generally has a humid subtropical climate, but the climatic classification can be deceiving as it can be regularly below freezing in the winter with snow. The temperature is generally 5 or 6 degrees less than Ashiya city below, which make the area very comfortable in high summer when temperatures at sea level can get between 35 and 40 degrees C.

Flora and fauna

Okuike is famed for the abundance of brightly coloured Hydrangea macrophylla or bigleaf Hydrangea, also referred to as French hydrangea, lacecap hydrangea, mophead hydrangea, penny mac and hortensia.
The area is heavily forested with many tall Mountain Pines ( kuromatsu) cover the forest area.
Inushishi (wild Japanese boar) are frequent in the forest and sometimes around Okuike.
Itatsi (イタチ)

Japanese weasel The Japanese weasel (''Mustela itatsi'') is a carnivorous mammal belonging to the genus '' Mustela'' in the family Mustelidae. The most closely related ''Mustela'' species is the Siberian weasel (''Mustela sibirica''). Its taxonomic species nam ...

are seen from time to time.
Aodaishō Japanese Rat Snake and

Mamushi ''Gloydius blomhoffii'', commonly known as the mamushi,Mehrtens JM (1987). ''Living Snakes of the World in Color''. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. . Japanese moccasin, Japanese pit viper, Qichun snake, Salmusa or Japanese mamushi,Gumprech ...

Japanese Pit Viper are sometimes seen.
Okuike Lake is abundant with

Koi or more specifically , are colored varieties of the Amur carp ('' Cyprinus rubrofuscus'') that are kept for decorative purposes in outdoor koi ponds or water gardens. Koi is an informal name for the colored variants of ''C. rubrofuscus'' ke ...

Japanese bush warbler The Japanese bush warbler (''Horornis diphone''), known in Japanese as ''uguisu'' (鶯), is an Asian passerine bird more often heard than seen. Its distinctive breeding song can be heard throughout much of Japan from the start of spring. Descri ...

, known in Japanese as Uguisu (鶯) are common in Okuike and often heard in abundance from mid-March each year.
Kitsune Japanese Red Foxes are sometimes seen.

Access

By Bus from Ashiya Hanshin, Ashiya JR and Ashiyagawa Stations; Hankyu Bus 80 toward Arima Onsen or 81 toward Ashiya Highland.
By Car from Ashiya along the Royu parkway toll road.
トップページ , 芦屋と有馬を快適につなぐ芦有ドライブウェイ

Attractions

Okuike BBQ and Family Park

Highland Park

Emba Museum of Modern Art in China
* Okuike Tennis Club * Okuike International Club
Koshino Gallery

Giichi Gallery

Gimel Jewelers

Okuike Lodge

East Rokko Observatory/Route Cafe

Ashiya Country Club

Ashiyagawa Muragen

Activities

* Trail Running *

Mountain Biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

Climbing Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or any other part of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders), to small boulders. Climbing is done fo ...

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

and trekking *

Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

BBQ Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke t ...

* Lake walking.

Residents of Okuike

Most residents of Okuike are affluent high net worth individuals and the small population is made up of business owners, entrepreneurs and CEO's/Chairmen of major international corporations. Also many successful artists live in Okuike, as well as fashion and jewelry designers. In fact Okuike is sometimes regarded as the creative hub of Ashiya city as you can also find houses of Nobel Prize winners, Olympians, novelists, futurists, elitists, and other people coming from non-industrial fields in the calm Ashiya-Okuike neighborhood. The average residential land plot size is around 600 square meters, which is large for Japan.

Resident nationalities

There is a sizeable foreign resident population in Okuike almost all of which are highly professional persons, Scottish, English, Swiss, German, Norwegian, Australian, French, South African, Indian, Venezuelan, Peruvian, American, Canadian, Brazilian, Taiwanese, Israeli, etc. Many of these people, as well as local Japanese have come together to form the Okuike International Club.

Notable houses

Koshino House - designed by

Tadao Ando is a Japanese autodidact architect whose approach to architecture and landscape was categorized by architectural historian Francesco Dal Co as "critical regionalism". He is the winner of the 1995 Pritzker Prize. Early life Ando was born a few m ...

Lantern House (formerly Glass House) - designed by Yamazaki Yasutaka
Okuike house - Mitsuru Nomura
"Moss Garden House" - designed by

Lifted House - Sekiya Masato of Planet Creations
Blue House - NRM Architects
Small House in the Pine Trees - Yamazaki Yasutaka
Okuike Villa/Mountain House - Sachiko Fukiage
Villa of Okuike - Atsushi Shikaki
Okuike K - Sinato Inc.
Villa Okuike -
House in Okuike - Tomohiro Hata
Okuike Summer House - Maneira Architects
House in Okuike Minamicho - GodaiDCM
White Okuike House - Masaaki Hisatake
E-House - BASARA
Atlier Okuike - Kobayashi Tsune Architects

Surroundings

JR Ashiya Station (13 minutes by car) Rokrokuso Town (13 minutes' drive)

Arima Onsen is an onsen, or hot springs in Kita-ku, Kobe, Japan. This Onsen is still a hidden treasure of modern Kobe, behind Mount Rokkō. It attracts many Japanese who want tranquility with beautiful natural surroundings and yet easy access from the bus ...

(17 minutes' drive) Rokko Garden Terrace (20 minutes by car)

References

{{Reflist Lakes of Japan Hyōgo Prefecture