There are many rivers in Tokyo that have been culverted. Among the rivers that join the Shibuya River (Furukawa River), there are several that have been culverted. On today’s walk, I was able to find two of them.
The Shibuya River, downstream from the Tengenji Bridge, is called the Furukawa River. In my previous article, I wrote about it in unison as the Shibuya River.
But if you look at the local signs and such, it seems that the name Furukawa is used more often. So, in this article, I will follow the township and write Furukawa for the Furukawa part.
Ichinohashi Bridge to Gonohashi Bridge
This time I will start my walk from Azabu Juban station. Near the station, there is a bridge called Ichinobashi.
Under the Ichinobashi Bridge, the culverted Yoshino River flows into the city and joins the Furukawa River. The Yoshino River comes from the Roppongi area. In the photo, the round hole in the wall on the other side of the river is the mouth of the Yoshino River.
About 300 meters to the south, the Ninohashi Bridge appeared. Normally, you would number the bridges from upstream to downstream. But in the days when transportation was by boat, it would have made more sense to count from the sea side.
Next, the Sannohashi Bridge. Even though the numbers are sequential, the design of the bridge is quite different.
Between the Sannohashi and Yonnohashi bridges are the Furukawa Bridge and the Shinfurukawa Bridge.
This is a photo taken from the Furukawa Bridge, looking downstream.
There were quite a few piles of sand. It seems that even today, some part of Tokyo is being cut down. There were five ducks eating something, probably food in the sand.
This is the Yonnohashi Bridge. The main pillar is magnificent.
I found the Shirogane Park Water Terrace. Although it’s called “waterfront,” it doesn’t seem to go down to the river.
Speaking of which, the water in the old river around here is also very clear. According to the sign, they use reclaimed water from the Ochiai Water Reclamation Center. The other day, I also witnessed the clarity of the Kanda River, which made me realize that I need to let go of my preconceived notion that all rivers in Tokyo are muddy and dirty.
This is the Gonohashi bridge.
The pattern of holes goes up and down periodically. If I were designing it, I’d make it five cycles, after the bridge’s name.
Shibuya River
This is the Tengenjibashi Bridge. Here, the name of the river changes from Shibuya River to Kokawa River.
And here I found the confluence of the Shibuya and Kougai Rivers!
Shibuya River is in the foreground of the photo, Kougai River is on the left at the back, and the two rivers join to form the Furukawa River on the right.
The wall along the Kougai River is covered with turtles. Turtles are able to climb the nearly vertical concrete wall. I was surprised.
Kougai, by the way, looks like a tool for scratching one’s head. A typical Kougai looks like a canoe paddle with thicker ends. Kougai River runs along Gaien-Nishi-dori from around Aoyama. If you ask me, I think Gaien-Nishi-dori looks like that shape.
Near Ebisu-bashi bridge, I found a valley in the road. I thought this must be the remains of a river, and that there was a culvert underneath. But when I checked after I got home, there was no culvert here. Too bad.
Now, after walking all the way up the Shibuya River, I looked at the river from the top of Hachimanbashi, near Shibuya.
There was the Shibuya River, which was solidly encased in concrete on both sides.
I wonder if this would make it difficult to cut deeper into Shibuya. The reason why the river is not rectangular in cross section is probably to ensure some depth of water during normal times when the water volume is low.
There is a truck on the bridge one over, which looks like it is under construction.
I reached out to take this picture on the bridge where the truck was parked. The Shibuya River is a culvert upstream from here.
I could see the Inari Bridge from the top of the pedestrian bridge leading to Shibuya Station. However, the Shibuya River is covered up and does not seem to be visible from the Inari Bridge.
On a side note, when I came home and watched TV, I saw a bakery in Azabu Juban on the screen. If I had seen it a day ago, I would have stopped by and bought one, but alas.
Walking data
Course: Tokyo Metro Namboku Line Azabu-juban Station -> Furukawa River/Shibuya River -> JR Yamanote Line Shibuya Station
Distance: 6.4km
Time: 1h11m
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