Today I reached the upstream end of the Shakujii River.
Going up the dry Shakujii River
Seibu Yagisawa Station South Exit
I went out the south exit of Seibu Yagisawa Station.
There is a bus rotary and it looks slightly more prosperous than the north exit.
The bus is Kanto Bus.
Shakujii River emerging from under Ome Kaido
When I came here last week, the amount of water in the Shakujii River had changed after the Ome Kaido area. Thinking that the culverted river might be flowing under Ome Kaido, I looked under Ome Kaido from the downstream side of the river. However, the water was still dry here. If I went back a little further downstream, I might be able to see where the water level suddenly increased. However, my goal today was to check the upstream end of the river, so I decided to abandon my obsession and head upstream.
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- Sea lion
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- Dolphin
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- Gull
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- black-headed gull
Cross the Ome Kaido at the Yanagisawa Pedestrian Bridge. The pedestrian bridge had four pictures of animals on it. For some reason, they all look like sea creatures.
Nishi-Tokyo City (Titus)
It has been raining a little. It is a pity that the manhole cover design is now speckled.
Actually, Nishi-Tokyo City is a treasure trove of manhole cover designs, and I was able to photograph quite a lot of them. Please take a look at the other page for a list of them.
Shakujii River with no water and grass
The Shakujii River, which has no water, is covered with grass.
Mukoudai Sports Ground
I found Mukoudai sports field. It is unnatural. It is several meters lower than the road I am standing on now. Clearly, the land has been artificially lowered.
I think it is a regulating pond (reservoir) to protect the surrounding area from flooding when the water level of the Shakujii River rises.
What’s a horse’s back (Umanose)?
Fields appear in places
Further on, fields appeared in places.
In the foreground of the photo is an ordinary field, and in the background, it looks like a gardener is growing garden plants.
Beyond the trees, the Shakujii River flows, and beyond that is a residential area.
The residential area seems to be a step higher. In other words, although the Shakujii River is dry now, it has been eroding this area during heavy rains.
Horseback faintly visible
The horseback is faintly visible through the trees.
Horseback
I climbed up on its horseback.
The dirt road in front is a sidewalk, and the paved Lake Tama Bike Path runs to the left.
The Shakujii River runs through this horseback from south (left) to north (right).
The horse back is a man-made structure, since it is on a naturally formed river. Why did they build such a large civil engineering structure?
This is because a water pipe runs under it. Water from Lake Sayama and Lake Tama is carried through this pipe to the Sakai Water Filtration Plant.
Using the reverse siphon principle, it seems that the water could be carried down once and then up the route, as in the bike path on the left. But since the elevation difference of the entire flow path is only about 20 m, it was probably necessary to minimize the loss as much as possible.
Downstream side of the Shakujii River seen from the horseback
At any rate, here is the downstream side of the Shakujii River as seen from the horseback.
Upstream side of the Shakujii River seen from the horseback
Through Koganei Park to the upper end of the Shakujii River
This is the upstream side of the Shakujii River. The forest seen over there is Koganei Park.
Koganei Park Entrance
This is the entrance to that Koganei Park. It was sunny and backlit.
Road sign in Koganei Park
There are road signs in Koganei Park. This is to avoid colliding with bicycles on the park’s bike path.
There are so many trees, it looks like it is not in Tokyo.
Two ponds
The reflection of the trees around the two ponds in the water made for an unexpectedly beautiful photo.
Upper end of Shakujii River
Finally, I found the upstream end of the Shakujii River!
Start of the trench at the upstream end
The trench begins here, as it seems to be the upstream end.
The Shakujii River seems to continue in a culvert from the upstream end.
But it seems to continue beyond that point in a culvert. I did not go there.
Road after rain leading to Hanakoganei Station
Having accomplished today’s goal, I am heading toward Hanakoganei Station.
This slope also seems to have been created by the Shakujii River.
Tama Lake Bicycle Path
I am now on the Lake Tama Bike Path again.
There is a sidewalk to enjoy a walk.
Hanakoganei Station
Hanakoganei Station was unexpectedly large.
Walking data
Course: Seibu Yagisawa Station, Seibu Shinjuku Line -> Shakujii River (Ome Kaido – upstream end) -> Hana-Koganei Station, Seibu Shinjuku Line
Distance: 6.7 km
Time: 1h35m
