Walking in the Woods: Go back to nature with the Japanese way of shinrin-yoku

by Yoshifumi Miyazaki

'It is clear that our bodies still recognize nature as our home...' - Yoshifumi Miyazaki'Forest bathing' or shinrin-yoku is a way of walking in the woods that was developed in Japan in the 1980s. It brings together ancient ways and wisdom with cutting edge environmental health science. Simply put, forest bathing is the practice of walking slowly through the woods, in no hurry, for a morning, an afternoon or a day. It is a practice that involves all the senses and as you gently walk and breathe deeply, the essential oils of the trees are absorbed by your body and have an extraordinary effect on positive feelings, stress hormone levels, parasympathetic nervous activity, sympathetic nervous activity, blood pressure, heart rate and brain activity.In this wonderful book, by the leading expert in the field, science meets nature, as we are encouraged to bathe in the trees and become observers of both the environment around us and the goings on of our own minds.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Science, Japan, Health, Ecology, Japanese Literature

136 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 11, 2021

Reviews

[Fabio Mologni · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overly simplified book that could be summarised into a wiki page and give you all the info needed to have a good idea of shinrin-yoku. Chapter 2 on the Japanese relationship with nature was actually the most interesting and could have been expanded quite a lot. The science behind nature therapy was in the chapter next to last, it should have been at the beginning. Experiments are very well explained. The section on shinrin-yoku and how to do it is so simple it's almost trite. How-to is just: try yoga, try a hammock... I think there was room for much more here.

[Jules · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don’t get me wrong, I will wilfully believe science when it shows that nature has a good effect on people and that we should all spend more time in nature.
But this feels like a heap of rubbish: though I will salute the effort that was made to promote forest therapy as a preventative thing only, and not as a treatment to disease.

Oversimplified information is more harmful than it is useful. If taking a walk in the forest makes someone feel better, and if science can prove it, that’s great. But I really don’t think this book does that. It feels really new age belief to me.
There’s absolutely no questioning of experimental bias.

Does a walk in the forest actually have healthy benefits? Or is it only the effect of a day away from the capitalist craze?
Telling people they need to pay organisations for one day out in the forest doing stupid sh*t will help us reduce high blood pressure & cortisol levels is plainly LYING, and it is a scam.
People need to work less. They need to take things slower. They need to HAVE TIME for hobbies.

Anyway, long story short, this book tackles this topic from the wrong angle.

[Minnie]

No duh

[Mohd Nordin Che Omar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exploring the benefits of walking in the forest. Supporting by empirical studies, it does reduce stress and strengthening the immune systems.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a basic guide to understanding the concept and practice of Shinrin-yoku in Japan. It is a lovely celebration of nature and ginspires youyo find more ways to introduce more forest/nature into your daily routine and home.

[Rebeccah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This had a handful of interesting ideas that were repeated over and over. It feels like it could have been a 3-page magazine article rather than a full-length book and still hit on most of the relevant points. But maybe it would hit differently for someone who didn't already know the value of time in the woods (I read it in one sitting lying in a forest beside a lake in the Cascade Mountains--I am very aware of the healing power of trees in my own life!)

[Andrew Klindworth · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started out well but should really just be a 5-6 page research paper.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This slim volume provides some of the science behind what is known as "Japanese Forest Bathing". The book itself is very quickly read, and provides the science behind how nature heals our souls, our hearts, and our spirits. During the height of the pandemic the only way out was to go forward, and in my case, going forward meant hiking in the woods located near to my home for an hour a day. My most restful moments occurred in the woods, and my greatest respite.

My only wish is that the book provided more information on how one might create our own forest bathing approaches. The approaches described in the book are all full days, which is not likely for me.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informal, mildly repetitive but easy to understand. A great look into how nature, in particular trees affects our wellbeing and relaxation.

It's great to be given case studies with detail and see their effects. I would have liked some more detailing on some of the studies but otherwise the results were clear and easy to read.

Rather than simply being about walking among trees, the inclusion of smell, sight, touch, bonsai, flowers and parks have been included.

If anything, it provided a good reason to take a walk in the woods. Here I am now, feeling better for it.

[Rosalind Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why you like woods: Explained.

This is a well explained book that shows the benefits of spending time appreciating trees and feeling your own connection with them. If you have ever wondered why you felt happier and more relaxed in a wood then this book by Yoshifumi Miyazaki explains why and what benefits you were unconsciously absorbing and internally generating. It will encourage you to spend more time with trees, plants, and flowers and feel the health benefits to both mind and body. What is more, forest bathing is for all ages. You may be surprised by its findings.

[Dr. des. Siobhán · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Walking in the Woods" is a book about how forests and being in nature can improve our wellbeing. The science-y bits were interesting, all of it was easy to understand and the descriptions of forest bathing or other ways of being in nature that may help us regulate our nervous systems was interesting to read. I thought that the book was slightly redundant in some parts, but I'm quite well acquaintaed with theories around nature and human wellbeing. A nice introduction and the parts about Japan were fascinating to me. 3.5 stars

[Allan Claydon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main message of this book is really pretty obvious

Going through the reviews suggests that a lot of the readers didn't finish the book: a lot of the lowest reviews call this 'hippy nonsense', despite the fact the last chapter explores the way they tested and proved their theories using scientific methods

That said the inclusion of passages that almost act as advertisements for professional companies offering this service is odd, anyone can go for a walk in the woods

And clearly from the research everyone should

[Keish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don’t get me wrong it’s an interesting book. Easy language and a good insight to the topic but I just thought there could have been way more expanding on the topics and research.

Very interesting tho.

[Emma Ioana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Relaxing and lighthearted book, and good for what it stands to provide.
Evidently, not a literary work of art, it's rather practical and research oriented.

Research in this domain is very important and should be extended.

[Quinn]

DNF page 66

This really could be summarized in an article or blog post. I 100% agree with the idea that being in nature helps you both physically and mentally. But I doubt it's just due to being in a more "urban environment"... it's just fucking capitalism.

[Emily ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

In an effort to read a little more nonfiction - this is the first book I picked up 🍃 A short, quick read exploring the benefits of shinrin-yoku. It was a mix of talking about the mental benefits & things like meditation, and also detailing some of the nature therapy experiments that this professor did.

[pavlina · Rating 3 out of 5]

asi idem utiect do lesa fakt

[karolina · Rating 4 out of 5]

číslami overený fakt, že patríme do prírody. osobne ma veľmi bavila časť knihy venovaná samotným experimentom. pridávam si hammack do svojho wishlistru.

[Craig Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simple book, which can be read in one sitting.

It could have been much better, however.

The author brings some science to the benefits of nature, in the form forest walking/forest bathing (shining-yoku). That said the book could have benefitted from either more science (there are some good experiments reported), or more poetry (some references) or even a step into some magical realism (Marugami).

It could have been either shortened, or lengthened. It was kind of a miss, despite making the subject tantalisingly alive for a brief moment at the start of the book.

The book does have a good list of references, and also some practical resources. It would have perhaps be nice to have expanded on the research and the references.

I gave it 3 stars.

[Peggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Walking in the Woods gives an overview of the Japanese method of forest therapy, which has as a purpose "to calm overstimulation from artificial and urban environments and promote relaxation." Research studies are cited, some experiments described. Most helpful to me were the list of activities provided for use at home.

[Patryk · Rating 4 out of 5]

A light read. It’s nice to read about research which stands behind our intuition that forests are benefitial for out health. Also this book can inspire someone to spend more time with nature and bring plenty of plants to your home (the author also recommends some of them). Maybe this book will not be the best book you have read, but I think it’s not trying to be.

[Tomas · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nice cover, everything else - a sad joke.

[Scarlet Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Repetitive and boring

[Anastas Kuyumdzhiev · Rating 1 out of 5]

Go green brother

[Blackargos · Rating 2 out of 5]

It would be very easy to lambast Walking in the Woods for a lack of scientific rigor that lends it a level of credibility much akin to surveys of other new age health and wellness practices, but I would like to at least afford Dr. Miyazaki a decent amount of grace on this front: you will not read any promises of miraculous healing power or a rebuking of standard medicine in this book, but modest claims of stress relief matched with a modest body of research and observations of preexisting scholarship on the medicinal benefits of stress relief (and in case you were worried like I was, yes, as far as I can tell, Dr. Miyazaki's credentials are perfectly legitimate and his publications are peer-reviewed). That being said, my background is in non-academic mathematics, not experimental neuroscience or endocrinology, so I refrain from making further judgements on that front.

The real sticking point of Walking in the Woods, for me, is the remarkably amateurish manner in which it is written. It is not immediately apparent to me how much of this is due to Miyazaki's own shortcomings as a writer versus the quality of the book's English translators, but regardless of how well Miyazaki's work bears fruit into the future, this book is a spectacularly mediocre piece of science communication. The book is roughly divided into three parts: an overview of the philosophy behind shinrin-yoku, a brief survey of forest therapy and related services offered in Japan, and a few excerpts of Miyazaki's research findings. The first two parts are written stiffly and repetitively, and read much more like a Japanese corporate PowerPoint presentation than convincing science communication (I can *see* the bow during each variation on "I hope you will try to incorporate forest therapy practices into your life."). I can't say that these shortcomings are perplexing, given a reputation among academics for being poor communicators, but in sectioning off his research to the end of the book, he deprives himself of the ability to grant his points in the earlier sections of the book the necessary impact by referring to experimental results 100 pages later. Miyazaki tries to thread the needle between being accessible and being rigorously academic, and, in my opinion, fails at both. The content of the book is not without merit, but I think Walking in the Woods will require a large-scale structural revision and Miyazaki pairing with a more effective writer to deliver his ideas before it becomes a text that I am eager to recommend to others.

[Ignacio Valcarce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Walking in the Forest is a simple yet valuable book that invites us to reflect on the importance of nature and our deepest roots. Through intuitive and easy-to-follow descriptions, accompanied by evocative images, Miyazaki conveys a clear message: walking in the forest is not just physical exercise, but also a way to reconnect with oneself and with the sense of calm that modern life so often takes away.

The book transmits serenity and well-being. Reading it feels like taking a quiet walk in the woods, reminding us that nature is an essential source of both physical and mental health. Its pages speak of balance, of returning to the essentials, and of how small gestures—such as spending time outdoors—can help us find peace amid daily stress.

The main themes it addresses are the connection with nature, self-care, and overall well-being. Although at times it can feel a bit repetitive and perhaps longer than necessary, its message comes across clearly: learning to value time in nature is learning to value life itself.

I would recommend Walking in the Forest to anyone. It is an informative, accessible book that requires no prior knowledge and can be appreciated for its simplicity and inspiring tone. A reminder that sometimes the most important answers lie in the simplest things: stepping outside, breathing, and walking among the trees.

[stefiereads · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

It feels like reading someone else's thesis or research paper.
It was a good and fast reading, however I feel like I needed something more? A lot of the stuff in the book is very familiarly known already. It is just that this book explore more and focus more on the Japanese people and perspective, which I appreciate.

With that said, I do not take lightly the research done by the author. It is a wonderful additional piece of information about how our body connected to nature in a lot of ways. The book offers tips and explanation of different trees that are famous in Japan, as well as to encourage us to not forgetting the wonderful nature around us.

For people that lives close to nature, this book won't be something spectacular. However, for people who is having a difficulties to be close to nature (like my family back home), this book would be a great reminder, an eye opening, and would elevate one sense of wonder to nature.

Either way, a good and fast read :)

[Audrey Kalman · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty straightforward little book with quite compelling research and studies. The following on treated vs untreated wood stood out:

We found that the relaxing benefits of tactile stimulation
- simply touching wood - are affected by any coating on the wood, such as varnish. We asked blindfolded subjects to lay their palms on squares of white oak wood, rather like offcuts of a kitchen worktop, for go seconds. If the wood was untreated, the subjects experienced reduced brain activity, increased parasympathetic nervous activity, reduced sympathetic nervous activity and lower heart rate, all signs of relaxation. These effects were much reduced if the wood had been treated with a urethane- or vitreous-
based coating.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got a lot from this and do feel very educated on shinrin-yoku. What it is, how to do it and how it will help you. With all the scientific backing for all of this.

However, unfortunately this was just too long. The repetitiveness of information was a lot and too much for me. This could have been at least 50 pages shorter and still had all the information in it.

Outside of the repetitiveness I really enjoyed it and got a lot from it. It did everything it set out to do and I'd recommend it to anyone already interested in the topic.

I also was surprised by but really appreciated the step by step guides to the different ways of doing shinrin-yoku, and found the amount of ways you could do it really interesting.

[yna · Rating 3 out of 5]

i was surprised that the book was actually a research study since the title didn’t make it seem like one. or maybe i’m just so used to filipino research titles being the usual “title: description” type instead of something more creative.

i kinda wish the book was presented in a more playful way—like using more metaphors about how nature is really our home. we’re so used to the urban grind that when we finally step into a green space, we forget how it feels to just breathe, dream, and move with the breeze. it’s our natural environment, the thing that keeps us grounded.

but i gotta say, the photos and infographics were nice. as a student researcher, i can never escape seeing graphs (lol), but they were done really well here.

overall, still a good read!