Found the remains of Shiga Naoya's residence!

I was surprised to see the clams that I had put in salt water the day before to remove the sand.

Surprisingly long clam siphon

How long the clams’ siphon is!

I was happy to see that the clams often stayed closed and did not remove the sand from the brine that I had made in the past. I guess it was a good thing that I measured out exactly one tablespoon of Hakata salt in 500 ml of water this time.

The clams cheered me up, and I left the house feeling good.

Power Line

This time’s walking course is from Komuro station to Abiko station. I had walked from Makuhari to Komuro last fall, so this was a continuation of that walk.

Since my physical checkup was coming up soon, I wanted to walk a long distance to lose some weight.

I started my walk from Komuro Station on the Hokuso Line.

The north side of the station is a residential area lined with apartments.

However, one thing in particular caught my eye: a high-voltage power line coming from the east.

I forgot to take a picture, but it looked like it had more than 30 insulators. The voltage was probably in the 500kV class.

When I’m out for a walk and I see a big tree, I feel a sense of awe, but there’s something similar about power lines.

According to the map, there is a Shin Keiyo substation about 800 meters southwest of the station, where the power generated by the Anegasaki thermal power station is transmitted to.

This time, I was planning to go as straight as possible to Abiko Station in the northwest.

Passing through the woods of Shirai City, we turned left to the west at Shirai Industrial Park, crossed the river, and walked a little over 10 km first. During this time, the power lines were constantly by our side, never to be seen or heard from.

The people who decided the route of the power lines must have wanted to send electricity to the people of Abiko and Kashiwa in the shortest distance.

Teganuma

I arrived at the roadside station “Shonan” on the south side of the Teganuma in the afternoon.

I bought onigiri (rice balls) and ice cream and ate them while relaxing and looking at the Teganuma.

I remember coming to Teganuma several times when I was in elementary school to fish for “kuchiboso” (stone moroko). At that time, it was often said that it was the dirtiest swamp in Japan.

According to the website of Abiko City, it kept the disgraceful record of being the dirtiest lake in Japan for 27 years from 1974 to 2000.

While crossing the Teganuma Bridge, I saw the Teganuma Water Plaza and Water Pavilion on my right. The shape of the building was novel, like a western castle, so I went there. However, I was told that it was undergoing renovation and would not be open until June. Too bad.

So I decided to go to the Abiko Bird Museum across the street.

I had been to this museum about 20 years ago, and I remembered that the skeletal specimen of a crow was unexpectedly slender. The harvest of this visit was that I learned about shorebirds. After all, a specimen gives me a better feeling than an illustrated book.

Hake’s path

I returned to the intersection north of the Teganuma Bridge (Wakamatsu, Abiko). I decided to take the road one street north to the west, as the narrow road seemed to be more picturesque than the big one. As it turned out, this was a good decision.

The site of Naoya Shiga’s residence is located in the Midorigammyo Green Space

I found the remains of Naoya Shiga’s residence! They are located in a 0.19-hectare green space called Midoriganmyo Green Space.

I have known that Naoya lived near the Teganuma since I was in junior high school. However, I thought that a great writer would live in a remote hermitage where reeds grew. At that time, there was no Internet, and I had no intention of looking him up.

I was surprised to find that it was between Teganuma and Abiko Station.

According to the commentary, he also enjoyed boating and skating in the Teganuma. So Naoya was a more ordinary person than I thought. Or perhaps he was more progressive?

Anyway, the Teganuma did freeze over. Is it because it has become muddy that it has stopped freezing in recent years? Or is it because of global warming?

Shiga Naoya’s study that was moved to a new location

The photo shows the study that was moved to the new building. This is where Naoya wrote “At Kinosaki,” the only work of his that I have read. The main house was located on the paving stone in the left foreground.

The north side of the road where Naoya’s residence is located is a cliff, and water gushes out from many places. I was thinking that the atmosphere was similar to that of the Kokubunji cliff line, and this path was also called Hake no Michi.

Kanou Jigoro Bessho Ruins

A little before the end of Hake no Michi, I walked up to the north and found the ruins of the villa of Kano Jigoro, a famous judoka.

Kano’s nephew was a thinker named Muneyoshi Yanagi, and Jigoro invited Yanagi to Abiko, and Yanagi invited Naoya Shiga and Mushanokoji to Abiko. In other words, Kano Jigoro was the origin of Abiko, where literati gathered.

Walking data

Course: Hokuso Railway Hokuso Line Komuro Station -> Teganuma -> JR Joban Line Abiko Station
Distance: 17.6km
Time: 5h17m