Shinrin-yoku. The Japanese Way of Forest Bathing for Health and Relaxation by Yoshifumi Miyazaki

4/2/2019

Book review by Stefanie Rudolph

Lately, mention of “forest bathing” increasingly pops up in the media. As with so many health and wellbeing trends, it hails from Asia but unlike others the concept of Shinrin-yoku or “forest bathing” is a fairly new one. In fact, the term was only coined in 1982 by the Director of the Japanese Forestry Agency and originally was more of a marketing exercise to entice the population into visiting the many beautiful forests of Japan. Since then, however, serious research has looked into the many benefits of being in nature which most people intuitively feel. Professor Yoshifumi Miyazaki, author of the book reviewed here, was among the first of these scientists.