Abstract
This paper outlines the policies on the development of Shinrin-sōgō-riyō-shisetsu (Multipleuse forest facilities) and compares the 1980s and the 2020s to determine whether these facilities existed or closed, and how these facilities have changed. From the 1970s to the early 1990s, Shinrin-sōgō-riyō-shisetsu were actively built mainly through the forestry structure improvement projects. Of the 382 Shinrin-sōgō-riyō-shisetsu that are listed in a guidebook published in the late 1980s, about 30% had been discontinued by 2024. The percentage of facilities that had been abolished was higher for those located in municipalities that had experienced municipal mergers in the Heisei era. The number of obstacle courses, tennis courts, and ski resorts that were actively built in the 1980s declined in the 2020s, confirming a trend by era. Regarding management and operation, the introduction of the designated administrator system by public bodies was progressing. Without reinvestment of aged Shinrin-sōgō-riyō-shisetsu, a ʻmarginal forest recreation areaʼ, a void zone of recreational facilities, may occur in the mountain village areas．
