Official

This festival started at Harumi Wharf Park at 9 o'clock, with guests from the House of Representatives Kiyoto Tsuji (* Tsuji: To be precise, Shinshinyo), Chairman Yasunori Takasaki of the Association for Creating Chuo-ku, Water City, Yasuto Yamamoto, Central Mayor, Mr. Kentaro Asahi gave a greeting.

The sponsoring organization, the Water City Chuo-ku Association, was launched about 20 years ago, and at that time focused on disaster prevention measures around the Asashio Canal.
However, with the progress of disaster prevention measures now, we are also conducting activities to convey the joy of the waterside so that neighbors can get closer to the waterside. .
In the future, in cooperation with a local construction company, a new dock will be set up at Kachidoki 3-chome, and next year it will be an area with the potential to play more easily with rental boats.

(upper left) Member of the House of Representatives Tsuji (upper right) Chairman Takasaki (lower left) Mayor Yamamoto (lower right) Member of the House of Councilors Asahi

According to Chairman Takazaki, the godfather of this festival is Mayor Yamamoto, who has been working for two years to revitalize the waterside.
According to the mayor, Chuo-ku is the ward with the highest waterside ratio (approximately 18%) in the 23 wards of Tokyo, and the government wants to work together to make use of the waterside and enjoy it while playing tsunami countermeasure. There was a story.
In order to create such opportunities, it seems that various initiatives are being implemented throughout the region, including firefighting, police, and companies, including this festival. .
In the future, the Harumi Passenger Terminal will be dismantled, and a low-rise and simple structure facility will be installed on the site to accept cruise ships.

The use of waterways in the event of a disaster, which was mentioned by several people in the guest greetings, was particularly impressive for me, a central inhabitant of the city.
What should I do if the road is suddenly cut off?... It is the information you need to know as one of the inhabitants, but you tend to spend time without thinking that every day is safe and peaceful.
As the "continuous preparation for unexpected earthquakes" engraved on the pedestal front of the pedestal of Seibo Kitamura's sculpture "Londai" in Sukiyabashi Park taught me, I felt again that I had to keep track of the evacuation route and location during disasters.

After the greeting, a large chemical fire boat "Miyakodori" and a large fire rescue boat "Oedo" performed simultaneous water discharge against the background of the Rainbow Bridge.

Miyakodori from the right, and from the left, Oedo goes on the water and turns in front of the audience. The water discharge of Osako power facing the front.
This was the first time I saw a fire boat, and I was surprised at the smooth and rapid change of direction of a large ship.
Apparently, it is equipped with a turning propeller that rotates 360 degrees, so it is possible to exercise agile hulls such as turning heads on the spot.
It seems that you will turn right away in case of emergency and work on fire fighting for ships.

After the opening ceremony, participants were given bags containing brochures of sponsoring companies and related facilities.
I've been worried about the Toyomi Fish Museum for a long time, so I'd like to visit this year.

After the opening ceremony, go to the “Fire and Disaster Prevention Festival” held on the premises of the harbor fire department.
In addition to a panel exhibition that summarizes past fire boats and disaster rescue activities so far, a variety of lineups include VR experiences of fires, tours of fire boats and fire trucks, earthquakes and smoke experiences, rescue teams' training presentations.
Many people, including families with children, enjoyed learning about disaster prevention and the role of fire departments.
(As an aside, the number of the VR experience car was "119"!)

From 10:30, I've been watching the rescue team training.
Thanks to the rescue squads who do not neglect training in preparation for an emergency, disasters can be prevented beforehand and damage can be minimized.
I would like to thank those who are working hard to realize a peaceful and safe everyday life.

Next, we participated in a cruise on the Asashio Canal and Sumida River on a disaster prevention ship.
This disaster prevention ship with a capacity of 40 people is an important means of transportation for Chuo-ku, the capital of water, which is also a means of water transportation in the event of a disaster.
The orange cushion is not just about making you feel comfortable.
In fact, it is a small ship marine life-saving cushion that is always available in case of emergency.

After getting on the boat, I spent about 30 minutes enjoying a relaxing water trip.
Like other participants, I was worried that it would shake quite a bit because it was a small boat, but it was surprisingly stable and never drunk.

This is the second time that he has passed on the Asashio Canal since the Tokyo Boat Transportation Social Experiment conducted in the summer of 2019, "Midsummer Easy Boat Trip Commuting".
(Until November 4, the “Easy Boat Trip Commuter 2nd” is being implemented with more routes.)
Unlike the Sumida River Cruise, we passed through the Tsukishima area and the sluice gate, where the atmosphere of a downtown area where small boats are anchored, and we were able to see the city of Chuo-ku from a different perspective.

During the cruise and from the premises of the harbor fire department, you can see water taxis, electric boats, dinghy (small yacht without a mast cabin), and 20-seater dragon boats with free trial boarding. Was.

In this way, various types of ships are coming and going on the water around Chuo-ku, the scenery that remains unchanged during the Edo period and Reiwa.
Ships that expanded the range of use from transportation and food procurement to entertainment during the Edo period are now a means of transportation in the event of a disaster.
Ships have changed considerably due to the development of shipbuilding technology, but for those who lived in the current Chuo-ku during the Edo period, I think they could understand more than ever how familiar the waterside was. .

Finally, I visited the inside of the fire boat "Miyakodori", which was active during simultaneous water discharge.
The water cannon used for water discharge is overwhelming when viewed up close.

Praying for water safety, a shrine shelf was also set up inside the fire boat.
In addition to the operation and communication room and meeting room, there was also a bed for emergency treatment that was prepared to respond to large-scale disasters.
In addition, there was an emergency rescue space for helicopters, which was highly functional and seemed to be able to respond flexibly to different cases.

On the way back, I had the opportunity to talk with the person in charge of the Asashio Canal Renaissance Council, which supports this festival.
It seems that they are aiming to revitalize the area around the Asashio Canal in cooperation with the local community.
It is said that we are considering conducting an event to get close to the waterside, so keep an eye on the area around the Asashio Canal!

2019 article "I feel like U.K. !? As I mentioned in the "Recommendation of the Asashio Canal", I think that the atmosphere around the Asashio Canal is slightly connected to U.K.
I would like to introduce the situation around the Asashio Canal, which will become increasingly active in the future, in this blog as needed.

I would like to thank the people involved in the "Meeting for Creating Chuo-ku, the City of Water" and the "Asashio Waterside Festa" for their cooperation in the interview and writing this article.