For my next walk, I decided to walk along the Meguro River.
Found a whale mound!
Shinagawa Station Central Gate
I get off at Shinagawa Station to head for the mouth of the Meguro River.
The station is quite busy, but it will be even busier when the Linear Line is completed.
View from the pedestrian deck at Shinagawa Station
From the pedestrian deck, the view is toward the south where the Meguro River is located. The buildings are all huge.
The other day, when I met up with a friend in Shinagawa, I arrived a little early, so I went to the Nikon Museum. It is located at the far end of Shinagawa Intercity, which you can see on the left in this picture. I used to be a Nikon user in the days of film photography, and there were exhibits that were so valuable that they sent shivers down my spine. I would like to visit there again when I have about 2 hours to spare.
Confluence of Shinagawa-ura and Tennozu Canal seen from Tennozu Bridge
After exiting onto the old Kaigan Dori (Metropolitan Route 316), I came to Tennozu Bridge, heading south. This is where Shinagawa Ura from the right joins the Tennozu Canal on the east side ahead.
Currently, the west side of Shinagawa-ura is a dead end. But I saw it on a guide map I found on the way here. According to the map, at the dead end, there is the remains of the mouth of the old Meguro River. In other words, the flow from the Meguro River used to flow out to Tokyo Bay via this place.
If you know that there is the mouth of the old Meguro River, you have no choice but to go and see it.
The former mouth of the Meguro River seen from the Kitashinagawa Bridge
Walking along Shinagawa Ura as much as possible, the area became much narrower around Kitashinagawa Bridge. The dead end is at the end of the front.
Here, the Meguro River section of Wikipedia says, “Before the development of the bay area, the river used to curve near its mouth. Indeed, the map (see the end of the article) shows that the river does not reach its mouth here until it turns sharply north, just past Shin-banba Station. The same Wikipedia also states that “the area is said to be the origin of Shinagawa because of its slow flow, its use as a harbor, and the goods that came and went. In other words, this area is the birthplace of the name Shinagawa.
At the dead end, there is Shinagawa-ura Park, where I looked for a sign that read, “Site of old Meguro River mouth,” but could not find it after all. The park was under construction and may have been temporarily evacuated.
Mound of whales
But instead we found a whale mound!
It is a memorial tower for a whale that strayed into the waters off Shinagawa on May 1, 1798, and was captured by the fishermen of Shinagawa-ura. The whale was 16.5 meters long. It is the only whale mound in Tokyo.
Gotenyamasita Platform Ruins
Just as I was about to leave Whale Mound for the mouth of what is now the Meguro River, I happened upon the ruins of Gotenyama Shita Daiba (platform)!
Eleven platforms were to be built to protect the city of Edo from the black ships, of which the first, second, third, fifth, and sixth platforms were completed, the fourth and seventh were not completed, and the others were not started. Instead, it was decided to build a pentagonal battery on land, which is this Gotenyama-shita platform.
The lighthouse that stands here is said to be a replica of the Shinagawa Lighthouse, the third Western-style lighthouse built in Japan on the second platform.
Where is the mouth of the Meguro River?
Meguro River sluice gate seen from Shintoukai Bridge
This is the Kurokawa sluice seen from the Shin Tokai Bridge over the Tennozu Canal. Beyond the sluice gate is the Meguro River where I am about to head.
STEINWAY & SONS Tokyo
As I crossed the Shintokai Bridge, I faintly saw the word “SONS” on my right. I thought the name sounded similar to the Steinway Company, famous for its pianos, and crossed the bridge to see “STEINWAY & SONS” written on it. It was that one; they opened in 2017.
The invisible threshold was so high that I couldn’t even get any closer. After all, a full concert grand costs more than 20 million yen.
Come to think of it, some years ago, I was astonished to see a Steinway grand piano in the musical instrument section of Yodobashi Camera in Akihabara. Where has that piano gone? If you are interested in playing a Steinway at least once in your lifetime, visit Shimamura Gakki and they may let you play it.
Keihin Canal
Crossing the Tennozu Isle intersection and heading east is the Keihin Canal.
At the time of my walk, I was not sure if the mouth of the Meguro River was at this confluence with the Keihin Canal or near the Meguro River sluice gate mentioned earlier, so I decided to pass by the east side on my left and look at the confluence with the Keihin Canal, just to be sure.
It is about 1.1 km to the bridge on the other side, so it takes a bit of determination to go there.
Tokyo Bay sea bass
At the foot of Shinagawa-futo Bridge, a foreigner was fishing with a short reel rod and caught a bass of about 50 cm.
Canal with unknown name
I am not sure what kind of canal is visible under the bridge, but it is a canal that opens on the east side of the mouth of the Meguro River. I thought I could see Tokyo Bay beyond it, but then I saw the so-called Odaiba area around the Museum of Maritime Science and Technology.
Mouth of Meguro River (?)
This is the mouth (?) of the Meguro River.
The monorail just ran. It is painted in soft color.
Oi Thermal Power Station
There is a power plant within walking distance from Shinagawa. It is the Oi Thermal Power Plant. However, it seems to have been shut down since April 2016. However, I can’t see the tower nearby. Where do the power lines run through? Is it underground?
Arch bridge over Keihin Canal
I also wondered if there might be a power line running through this arch bridge.
Oi Kita Pier Bridge
Finally, after walking 1.1 km, we cross the Keihin Canal at the Oi Kita Pier Bridge.
Automatic Water Quality Meter at Tokyo Waterworks Bureau
The arch bridge, which I thought earlier might have an electric line running through it, is located here. The arch bridge seems to have a water line running through it, as there is an automatic water quality meter of the Tokyo Waterworks Bureau.
This is the second automatic water quality meter I have seen, but it is the same one with a faucet next to it and the handle removed. Is this to prevent tampering?
Meguro River seen from Higashishinagawa Bridge
I am now back to the Meguro River. This is the view from the Higashi-Shinagawa Bridge.
Tokyo Gas Governor
There was a governor for Tokyo Gas.
In a control-related class in college, we were taught about the mechanism of a governor, which was shaped like an American cracker or a yajirobe, and it spun around and around. As it spun faster, centrifugal force opened up the space between the weights, which in turn caused feedback to slow down the rotation.
In this picture, you can’t see the balancing device, so it looks different from that. They say it is a gas pressure regulator.
Tennozu Park
As I was walking around somehow, I came to Tennozu Park. The park is nice and sunny today.
Meguro River sluice gate with whales painted on it
To the right was the Meguro River sluice gate. It has a picture of a whale on it. You know why. It is derived from the whale mound mentioned earlier.
The real mouth of the Meguro River
There were several places that seemed like river mouths, and each time I took a picture of them. This is one of them. When I got home, I found out that this was the real mouth of the Meguro River.
The right side is Higashi-shinagawa 1-chome, the left side is 3-chome, and the place where I am standing now is 2-chome. The southeast end of the 1-chome is the mouth of the river. Hmmm. After a long detour, I finally arrived at the mouth of the river. I should finish today’s walk soon.
Walking along the Meguro River
Ruins of ura-kousatsuba place on the south bank of Shinshinagawa Bridge
A billboard stood on the south bank of the Shinshinagawa Bridge. It is said that during the Edo period, there was an ura-kousatsuba place in this vicinity. Unlike the kousatsuba places along highways, the ura-kousatsuba place seems to have been a kousatsuba place that established rules and regulations specific to fishing villages.There are still two pieces of kousatsu, one stipulating the measures to be taken when a ship is wrecked, and the other stipulating the prohibition of smuggling.
Shinagawa Bridge
The name of this bridge is Shinagawa Bridge. The name of the bridge is attached to the Meguro River because it is the river that gave birth to the name of the Shinagawa area.
Toukai Bridge
Tokai Bridge was located just past Shimbamba Station.
The phoenixes on the pillars of the bridge gave it an elegant appearance. It is probably my favorite bridge I have seen recently.
Children’s Forest Park
At Children’s Forest Park, there were several dinosaurs. Was Stegosaurus so small compared to Tyrannosaurus?
Birthplace of the modern glass industry
This is the birthplace of the modern glass industry. Kogyo-sha,” which was founded in 1873 with British technology, became a government-run “Shinagawa Glass Works” due to poor business performance, but was eventually dissolved in 1893. However, it was inscribed that the engineers who were trained during that time started their own businesses in various places and became the foundation of today’s glass industry.
I was particularly interested in the stone on the right. This stone is “silica stone,” which is the raw material for glass. Silicon, the main ingredient of glass, is a common substance on the earth, and I had thought that sand from around there would be used as a raw material, but it turns out that there is an actual raw material.
Morinaga Bridge
This is Morinaga Bridge. When Morinaga Seika’s second factory was built in 1915, the company built a wooden bridge for its employees to commute to work.
Koseki Bridge
I decided to take a walk today to this Koseki Bridge. The bridge was curved, and the main pillars were modern.
Osaki Station
Return from Osaki station.
Walking data
Course: Shinagawa Station, JR Tokaido Line -> Meguro River (river mouth – Koseki Bridge) -> Osaki Station, JR Yamanote Line
Distance: 9.7 km
Time: 2h35m
