Cedar Avenue of Nikkō
The Cedar Avenue of Nikkō is a street in Japan lined with approximately 13,000 cryptomeria trees, known as Sugi, the national tree of Japan. Consisting of three parts converging on the city of Imaichi, the Cedar Avenue of Nikkō is long and is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest tree-lined avenue in the world. The Cedar Avenue of Nikkō is the only cultural property designated by the Japanese Government as both a Special Historic Site and a Special Natural Monument.
The cedar trees were planted approximately 400 years ago by Matsudaira Masatsuna, a feudal lord serving Tokugawa Ieyasu, who donated them to the Nikkō Tōshō-gū. This monumental project was begun around 1625 and required about 20 years to be completed. It is estimated that some 200,000 cedars were planted at this time.
