Nikko Kaido Walk (2) Senju-Soka: June 4, 2018

I took the second part of my Nikko Kaido Walk. 

It was from Senju, the 1^st shukuba station to Soka, the 3^rd.

I started today’s walk from Kitasenju railway station. Old Senju shukuba is a bloc from the railway station. Old Nikko Kaido is now a shopping street.

Various monuments remain.

Local people are eager to reserve Senju’s tradition and history. There is a guest house for visitors there.

Passing Senju shukuba, I arrived Arakawa River. It is an artificial river developed in the in the 1910s to prevent flood disaster.

Nikko Kaido goes northward through Adachi City (Ward)．There spread residential areas.

There are many apartment complexes in the area. They were developed 40-60 years ago when Japan was in the high-growth period. Most of them are old.

I stopped at Takenozuka. There are apartment complexes in front of the railway station. New commercial streets are developed in the place further from the station.

I walked northward and entered into Soka City in Saitama Prefecture. 

There is a small river called Kenaga River between Tokyo and Saitama.

Soka is famous for its rice crackers. There are some factories and stores along Nikko Kaido.

Many people commute to Tokyo from Soka.

Mt. Takao: June 3 and 9, 2018

I sometimes visit Mt. Takao, which stands in the western suburb of Tokyo. It takes about an hour by train from central Tokyo.

I visited there two consecutive weekends.

I found many hikers at the foot of the mountain. There are several routs to climb. I took different ways on the two different days.

I climbed the main rout on June 3. Many parts of the rout are paved with stones.

The green is getting deeper day by day in this season. (see the 2nd photo from the top)

There are many cedar trees at the side of the mountain.

There is a suspension bridge in the mountain (See the 3rd photo from the top). 

Big cedar trees stand along the route.

I took another rout on June 9.

I found the road covered with the roots of the trees in some parts. (See the top photo)

Mt. Takao is 599 meter high.

I had good exercises.

Yamanote Line Walk (2) Hamamatsucho-Gotanda: June 2, 2018

I had the second day of my Yamanote Line walk. Today’s course was from JR Hamamatsucho station through Tamachi, Shinagawa, and Osaki to Gotanda.

JR Hamamatsucho station is not far from Tokyo Tower. It stands behind the buildings.

The World Trade Center, at the side of the station, was Japan’s tallest building between 1970 and 1971. It has business and commercial facilities.

Toshiba’s headquarter stands near Hamamatsucho.

I found house boats staying in a canal. They are for anglers.

The Yamanote Line runs quite near the sea around Hamamatsucho and Tamachi station. There are large and small canals running in the area.

A monorail line, which connects Hamamatsucho and Haneda airport runs over the canals. (See the top photo)

Huge apartment have been build in the last 2 decades.

New construction works are under way near Tamachi station.

The view of Tokyo Tower from this area was also impressive. (See the 2nd photo from the top)

There is a plan to build a new station of Yamanote Line between Tamachi and Shinagawa stations. It is expected to open in 2020.

Shinagawa is a station of not only Yamanote Line, but also Kehin Tohoku Line, Tokaido Line, Shinkansen bullet train and Keikyu Lines.

There was a shukuba station of Old Tokaido in the Edo era. The street remains in the area.

Yamanote Line and Tokaido Line (as well as Keihin Tohoku Line) separate in the place west of Shinagawa.

Yamanote Line crosses Meguro River near Osaki.

Osaki’s redevelopment was promoted after the 1980s. Osaki Gate City is one of the examples.

Many apartments and commercial buildings have been developed along the Meguro River. (See also the 3rd photo from the top)

Various redevelopment projects are promoted in Gotanda area now.

There are construction works under way in and around the JR station.