The factory is within the dense forest at the foot of the high towering peaks of the Southern Alps. It is the home of Suntory "Minami Alps tennensui" and Suntory Natural water Minami-Alps Hakushu plant. The granite stratum slowly refines the water over a long time, while enriching it with minerals. However, to produce this delicious natural water, maintaining a healthy forest is indispensable. But what is the relationship between this mineral water we often drink without giving it more thought and the forests?

When thinking of world-renowned mineral water, people often associate it with the majestic mountains that brought forth this water.
The Southern Alps is also one of these well-known ridges blessed with such water.
Since it went on sale in 1991, the "Suntory Minami Alps tennensui ", produced by the Suntory Minami-Alps Hakushu plant in Hakushu town, Hokuto city, has been enjoyed by many people.

What makes the water from this mountain so delicious? In order to answer this question, we visited the factory within the forest, surrounded by abundant greenery. We were kindly welcomed by Mr. Suzuki from the Eco Strategy Department. Usually, when you talk about "Eco" as a business activity, it is often linked to CSR (corporate social responsibility).
I thought it possible to understand the mechanism of how the mountains bring forth this natural water said Mr. Suzuki with a smile.
"In order to get good water, soft forest soil is very important."

"Natural spring water is water which is enriched with the minerals of the sedimentary rock. Suntory wants to make use of this groundwater. To ensure the quantity and quality, our Eco Strategy Department is conducting mountain surveys and necessary repair works", says Mr. Suzuki.

There was a time when many trees were planted in Japan. The 1960s and '70s were an era of extensive reforestation when Japanese cedar and cypress were planted like a building material for Japanese houses. But we are now in an extended time where we have not been using them.
"You can not talk of "natural" when a forest is closely planted with trees. The forest becomes dark and undergrowth and micro-organisms that soften the soil will not grow. The soil becomes very hard." Therefore, even when it rains in the forest the rainwater will not penetrate into the soil but instead will flow over the surface to the river. This causes essential groundwater not to stay in the mountains.

To prevent this Mr. Suzuki goes up the mountains at least once a month. He inspects if forests need periodic thinning or if there are places where the mountain surface is crumbling. He will also consider which or if new trees need planting. To decide what actions to take to sustain a soft soil, he conducts a thorough survey together with university researchers and forest consultants.

"As you walk through the factory grounds, you will notice the beautiful Japanese red pine (Pinus densiflora) trees that grow here. The soil here is originally formed by sediments flowed in from the top of the mountains. The red pine is a pioneer tree." Forests are not static and are always changing. Red pine trees grow even in oligotrophic soil (nutrient-poor soil). The leaves that fall on the ground decompose, gradually fertilizing the soil. Broad-leaved forests of Japanese oak and Maple succeed the Japanese pine trees after they have finished their role. Despite, there are areas on the grounds where we would like to keep the red pines, and in those places, we take measures to delay the transition. Mr. Suzuki uses the same principle when selecting the tree species in the mountains.

Today we could see none of the rare bird species that live on the mountain, but we came regularly across an important dweller of a healthy forest. And that is the earthworm. When living in the city you may sometimes see them stretched out on the asphalt, but the earthworms here are hardworking fertilizers and have a very different lifestyle. "Here they eat the earth and microorganisms break down their dung. Repeating this process many times will result in a soft and fluffy soil", explains Suzuki.
You might think as long as plants have water and nutrients it would be enough, but this is not the case, because a symbiosis with microbes and mycorrhiza is equally vital. If there is a diversity in microbes, a variety of plants can grow which will, in turn, cause a diversity in animals living there eating the plants, creating a large and stable ecosystem pyramid. Therefore, if birds of prey like hawks and eagles live at the top (of the pyramid) you can talk of a healthy forest.

Looking at the trees, looking at the forest and looking at the water. The activities of the Eco Strategy Department are key to Suntory who exists because of the water. "I want to be able to react to sudden change," says Suzuki. He looks with kind eyes to the forest, but, he also looks like someone on a mission.