Making Forestry More Free. Creating a New Forestry with Flexible Thinking
Tokyo Chainsaws was founded in 2006 in Hinohara Village, the only village in Tokyo excluding the islands.
It started with four people who were independent from the local forest cooperative in Hinohara Village, where the forest coverage exceeds 90%, each contributing 150,000 yen.
Initially, we were subcontractors for the forest cooperative, focusing on forest maintenance such as thinning, but later we expanded the scope of our work and shifted to becoming a prime contractor, first taking on projects in Hinohara Village and then in Tokyo.
In 2014, eight years after our founding, we purchased about 10 hectares of forest in Hinohara Village, built logging roads, and began felling and transporting timber.
With this forest purchase as a turning point, we expanded our business into processing and sales departments.
Currently, we have over 30 staff members, including both full-time employees and part-time workers.
What kind of 'forestry' does Tokyo Chainsaws aim for, and what kind of work do we do...
Not bound by forestry, yet thoroughly committed to it
What Tokyo Chainsaws considers most important is having free and flexible thinking.
The forest, which is the main stage of forestry, is of course a place for timber production. We also utilize it by shipping the felled timber to log markets and processing and manufacturing it into products at our workshop for sale.
However, at the same time, the forest is a place where diverse animals and plants grow, and it is also a place that supports our lives by having multifaceted functions such as water source cultivation, the formation of a comfortable environment, and the prevention of global warming.
It is also viewed as a place for environmental education, as well as a place for camping and outdoor leisure.
Utilizing these diverse and wonderful characteristics of the forest and drawing out its rich charm to the maximum...
We are aiming for that kind of forestry.
To do that, we need a flexible way of thinking that is not bound by conventional wisdom.
We have organized these ideas as our Spirit, Mission, and Vision.
Make forestry freer! <Spirit>
At Tokyo Chainsaws, we view 'forestry' broadly.
We not only produce and sell timber (trees), but we also consider it 'forestry' to sincerely face and utilize the forest space, which is a habitat for animals and plants and a place for human environmental education.
To utilize it, more people should get involved with the forest, and people and the forest should be able to have a richer connection.
Maximize the value of the forest <Mission>
If approaches to the forest increase, unprecedented value will be born there.
Value as a material, spiritual value, value as a community where people connect. It is truly diverse.
We want to create that diverse value and realize a forestry that can be self-sustaining even if the scale is small.
Aiming for coexistence with the city <Vision>
What lies beyond continuing to practice forestry broadly is a world where 'the forest and the city coexist.' Forest spaces, materials, and products with new value connect the forest and the city, and people go back and forth. A world where, even if physically separated, the forest becomes a 'personal matter,' and the forest and the city have an equal relationship.
When such a world is realized, people who work in the forest, people who own the forest, people in the city, nature such as forests and oceans, and everyone involved will be happy, and a better cycle will be born.
Underlying these ideas is the 'thought from the time of our founding.' It is summarized on another page, so please take a look.
→Thoughts from the time of our founding
While cherishing these thoughts, Tokyo Chainsaws is exploring forms of sustainable forestry every day and working on various jobs!
Tokyo Chainsaws' Work
Tokyo Chainsaws' work is broadly classified into three categories: 'Forest Creation,' 'Craftsmanship,' and 'Experience Creation.'
Forest Creation
In the Forestry Division, we mainly carry out public works for the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Hinohara Village, as well as silviculture, afforestation, and transport work in our own forests. In addition, recently we have also started working on forest creation in forests owned by companies and others, where people can gather and engage in activities comfortably.
Now, with a strong demand for the supply of local timber, we are also planning to increase the amount we transport in the future.
In any case, while practicing operations that are in harmony with nature, we aim to create forests that will last for 50 or 100 years, balancing both the economy and the environment.
Craftsmanship
Through craftsmanship, we want to create a 'future where forests and trees are cherished as a single life.'
We make products while facing 'one tree' as 'one life.' Even within the same tree species, each tree has diversity just like people, and the characteristics of the years it has lived remain. We hope to create things that allow us to share the time that one life lived with everyone.
We would be happy if you could treat our products as a 'living thing' and use them for a long time.
Experience Creation
Through physical experiences such as Forest Delivery and the Tokyo Beauty Forest Club, we want to create a better cycle between the forest and people by deepening the relationship with the forest by thinking about the time the forest has lived. Although greening is progressing in urban areas, there are still not many opportunities to touch wood.
That is why we feel it is necessary to have experiences where you can actually touch it, hear the sounds, and be stimulated by the smell, etc. We want you to feel the wood and the forest using all five senses.
We want to continue to create opportunities to make wood and the forest feel like familiar existences.
And by promoting each job with the same intensity, new businesses unique to Tokyo Chainsaws are being born in the parts where they relate to and overlap with each other.
To give a few examples, these businesses have been born so far.
● 'Whole Tree Sales' that utilizes one tree from the forest creation site entirely without waste.
● 'Product Processing' that turns materials from the forest into products such as furniture.
● 'Forest Delivery' that delivers the blessings of the forest and creates opportunities to get involved.
● 'Let's Make a Desk When You Turn 6,' where you can experience both felling and woodworking at the same time.
● 'Tokyo Beauty Forest Club,' where you grow trees together for 30 years.
Tokyo Chainsaws will reach its 18th year since its founding in 2023. We have expanded our business and the number of staff has increased, but we are aware that we are still a 'young' company.
While paying attention to social trends every day, we will strive to update our way of thinking and always face forestry with new approaches.