Go to Edo Minato by boat
When I applied for the “Why Boat Tour of Edo Tokyo / River” sponsored by the Construction Technology Research Institute Co., Ltd., which was guided by the tourist association, I won a lot of applications, and on October 4, `` Edo Minato What is it? " This year's luck feels like it's exhausted. The course on this day is Nihonbashi-Nihonbashi River-Kamejima River-Sumida River-Tokyo Bay-Shibaura Canal-Keihin Canal-Tennoshima Pier. I went through the familiar Chuo-ku to Tokyo Bay.
Start by Nihonbashi Sojuro Riverside, boatman and guide, 10 participants, and a small boat. Underground construction of the Metropolitan Expressway will be carried out from the north side of Tokyo Station to the Edobashi Junction over 20 years from 2020, and then the ground will be removed over 10 years, and it will take at least 30 years. Will you live until that time and see a new view of Nihonbashi?
What is Edo Minato?
Edo Minato, including various products called "descent things" from the upper part (now the Kansai region) during the Edo period, goods such as rice, sake, oil, dry matter, etc. were transported by boat from outside Edo. It was a big gateway to gather. The goods collected in Edo Minato were replaced on a small boat, then transported to a large riverbank along the waterway via waterways such as the Nihonbashi River and Hatchobori, and landed. Edo Minato, the predecessor of Tokyo Port, was a base for transporting necessary supplies to the common people of Edo, and in Edo's town development, ports and waterways were one of the fundamental infrastructures.
(Source data from the Institute of Construction Technology)
Role of sluice gates
It's Nihonbashi River Suimon. There was a low pressure on this day and the water surface was rising, so even a small boat passes through the sluice gate. The Kamejima River entering from here has low revetment and adjusts the amount of water at the sluice gate. It seems that the land in this area is low because the land used to be the sea was originally created by using surplus soil for landfill during the construction of Edo Castle. At present, ashiyayoshi is planted on the waterside. There are also sluice gates in the Tsukuda River tributary, Tsukishima River, Tsukiji River, etc.
Scenery from Sumida River
I went to the Sumida River. The construction of the port began in the Meiji era with the Sumida Kawaguchi improvement work, and landfill construction of Tsukishima and Shibaura was promoted. While skyscrapers are lined up now, one corner of Tsukuda Island is lined with old-fashioned low buildings. This is because fishermen who have been given land by Ieyasu have protected the land as landowners for generations. As development progressed, factories and warehouses moved downstream of the river to Tokyo Bay. After this, the boat went out to Tokyo Bay while watching the Rainbow Bridge, entered the Shibaura Canal, and took an hour and a half to Tennozu Pier.
Thank you very much to everyone at the Institute of Construction Technology. The story of those who are working to make the skeleton of the city broadened the view of the landscape that continues from Edo.
The site of Tsukiji Market
On the way back from Tennozu, I stopped by the National Cancer Center in Tsukiji and saw the site of Tsukiji Market, which is under construction, from the 19th floor. It was completely vacant. After 2020, I was looking forward to seeing what kind of scenery this would be like.