I was so nervous because I didn’t know how to get off the Setagaya Line
I “beeped” my Suica at the ticket gate of Shimotakaido Station, but I couldn’t figure out how to get off. “There is a machine next to the driver’s seat where you can touch your Suica, so I guess I should just touch it there. If there’s someone else getting off, I’ll just learn from them,” I thought, but there was no one getting off at the first Matsubara station! I was getting a little nervous.
I started to get a little nervous. I looked again at the door next to the driver’s seat where I was supposed to get off, and saw that it said “Entrance” on it. So it seems that this is not the “exit”. I looked at the door behind me and saw the word “Exit” written on it.
However, there was no machine to touch Suica near this exit. In the meantime, I arrived at Yamashita station!
Fortunately, there was one person who got off before me, and he went straight down without touching his wallet, so I mimicked him.
Setagaya Line at Yamashita Station
Yamashita station was unmanned, and there were no ticket gates. Oh, so it was a uniform advance payment for all lines. If only there had been a notice on the train that said so, I wouldn’t have been so nervous.
The Kitazawa River Greenway in full bloom
Kitazawa River Greenway seen beyond the railroad tracks
I walked to the west of the railroad tracks, and a little further north, I saw the Kitazawa River Greenway, which I had walked along the other day, over the railroad tracks. From here, I continued my walk.
Yurinoki (tulip tree) Park
The greenway on this side of the tracks is called “Yurinoki Park”.
What, Yuris (lilies) are not grass but trees?
Tulip tree
It seems so. The flowers on this tree look like lilies, hence the name. It is also called tulip tree because it looks like a tulip flower.
The leaves are said to be shaped like hanten (half-cloth), so it is also called hantenboku (half-clothed tree).
In other words, this tree has no identity of its own, so it seems to be called by the names of similar trees.
I thought it looked like an owl because the leaves looked like they had ears. But as far as I could tell from Googling, not many people see it that way.
Anyway, there were as many tulip trees planted in this park as I’ve ever seen in my life.
Yamashita Park
I found Yamashita Park! I thought I had arrived in Yokohama.
Anyway, there are a lot of flowers and grasses in bloom this season.
Is that Murasakihanana (Chinese violet cress) in bloom under the sign?
Ohmana (Star of Bethlehem)
In addition, there were many other plants in bloom such as Ohmana (Star of Bethlehem),
Shaga (crested iris)
Shaga (crested iris),
Tokiwamansaku (Loropetalum chinense)
Tokiwamansaku (Loropetalum chinense),
Aburana (Brassica napus)
Aburana (Brassica napus),
Shakunage (Rhododendron)
Shakunage (Rhododendron),
Ohkibanakatabami (Oxalis pes-caprae)
Ohkibanakatabami (Oxalis pes-caprae),
Mokkoubara (Rosa banksiae)
Mokkoubara (Rosa banksiae),
Fuji (Wisteria)
and Fuji (Wisteria) in Bloom.
A power line with an unusually large number of pigeons parked on it.
On the way, there was a power line where an unusually large number of pigeons were parked.
It was scary to walk under it. I was afraid of being pecked at.
Benten Bridge, the end of the Kitazawa River Greenway.
While I was looking at the flowers, I came to the Benten Bridge.
This is the end of the Kitazawa River Greenway.
There was an information board, which explained that Kitazawa-gawa was a water supply diverted from Tamagawa-josui, and that before that, it was a narrow stream that collected rainwater from the surrounding area and the spring that sprang up in the depression in the Matsuzawa Hospital.
From here, I took the road near the culvert (marked on the topographical map at 1/25,000 scale) and headed towards Matsuzawa Hospital. (I checked after the walk, and it seems that a narrow path still exists.
Found Shogun Pond!
The seven-way intersection in front of the Sakurajosui Police Station
The intersection in front of the Sakurajosui Police Station is an amazing seven-way street!
From northeast to southwest, there is a straight road that stretches for about eight kilometers, and five roads connect to it. I think the straight road was created by the people who planned the city in the past, using a ruler to draw a straight line through this undeveloped land.
Cabbage field in Setagaya Ward
There are cabbage fields in Setagaya Ward, aren’t there? I wonder how high the price of Setagaya cabbages will be.
The other side of the field is a little lower, and the original stream seems to have been that way.
Near the starting point of the Kitazawa River culvert
I arrived near the starting point of the Kitazawa River culvert shown on the 1:25,000 map. The Kitazawa River seems to have started flowing from the T-junction to the other side of the road.
As a finishing touch to my walk along the Kitazawa River, I headed toward the Matsuzawa Hospital, which was marked on the sign.
Shogun Pond Park
About 350 meters from the T-junction, I saw Shogun Pond Park across the street.
It is not a very big park, but there are many users, and on this day, a group of people were laying out a rug and eating their lunch.
Shogun Pond
Just past the group, I found Shogun Pond, the origin of the park’s name! It is a man-made pond created by the patients of Matsuzawa Hospital through landscaping work in the Taisho era, and was named after one of the patients who called himself “Shogun”.
Before coming here, I thought that Shogun Pond was the source of the Kitazawa River. But if it is a man-made pond created in the Taisho era, then it seems to be a bit different.
I headed north from the park and came to Kamikitazawa station.
Platform at Kamikitazawa Station
The tracks and platform came into view along a narrow path.
Entrance to Kamikitazawa Station
The entrance to Kamikitazawa station was this downward staircase with the platform in the background. This was the first time I had seen such a structure. I thought it was the entrance to a subway or something different from the Keio Line, and passed by it once.
Walking data
Course: Tokyu Setagaya Line Yamashita Station -> Kitazawa River Greenway -> Keio Keio Line Kamikitazawa Station
Distance: 4.0km
Time: 1h1m
