山北町パークゴルフ場

パークゴルフ is a sport invented in Japan in 1983 — specifically in Hokkaido — and has grown into a beloved recreational pursuit across the country, particularly among older adults and families seeking a gentler, sociable form of the game. Courses use a single wooden mallet-style club, a large plastic ball, and holes that typically measure between 20 and 100 meters. The format strips away the intimidation of full-scale golf while keeping the essential pleasure of playing through a designed outdoor landscape.

山北町 (Yamakita-cho) sits in the far western corner of Kanagawa Prefecture, where the Sakawa River runs through a valley framed by the forested slopes of the Tanzawa mountains. It is quiet, rural country by Kanagawa standards — a world apart from the prefecture's coastal cities — and the surrounding hills give this corner of the Kanto region a distinctly unhurried character that suits the park golf format well.

A facility like this would typically serve the local community as a free or very low-cost venue, welcoming residents of all ages, school groups, and visitors drawn to the Tanzawa-Oyama Quasi-National Park nearby. Expect a relaxed, neighborhood atmosphere rather than a competitive setting — the kind of place where the social round afterward matters as much as the scorecard.