Do you know what a blue crab is? It is a sea crab with a carapace shaped like a playing card diamond turned sideways with the top and bottom slightly rounded. There is a pedestrian bridge in Kisarazu that looks like this.
Kisarazu Station
I had refrained from going for a walk because of the bad weather caused by the typhoon the week before last and last week. However, today was a good day for a walk, thanks to the power of a singular sunny day. Besides, it’s the first day of a consecutive holiday. So I decided to go out for a walk. My target was Kisarazu.
Kisarazu City’s mascot character, Kisapon.
When I arrived at Kisarazu station, I was greeted by Kisapon, the mascot character of Kisarazu City. Hmm? Kisapon is a raccoon?
Local manholes for “Raccoon dog music at Shoujoji Temple”
As I exited the west exit, I saw a local manhole. It had a picture of “Raccoon dog music at Shoujoji Temple” on it. Yes, that’s right. The Shoujoji Temple was located in Kisarazu. That’s why Kisapon looks like a raccoon dog.
While I was taking a picture of the manhole, I saw a shadow behind me.
I thought it was getting in the way of traffic, so I sidestepped it, but it didn’t move away. He seemed to be observing me as I took the photo.
“Oh, a picture of a manhole. How did you notice that? Shoujoji Temple is famous in Kisarazu. Come again~”
He’s such a friendly person. Kisarazu is a nice place. But I just came here… “Come again~”?
I went to the tourist information center and asked about the highlights of the city.
They recommended the Nakanoshima Bridge, about 1.4 km west of the station, and the observatory at Ohtayama Park, about 1.2 km east of the station. She also told me that there is a festival called GLOCAL HAPPINESS at Shiohama Park by the sea.
I got a map of the area and decided to head for the Nakanoshima Bridge, stopping by Shoujoji Temple on the way.
But there were so many raccoon dog statues and signs. It is said that there are more sheep in New Zealand than people. In Kisarazu, there are clearly more stone statues of raccoons than of people.
Shoujoji Temple
Hagi (bush clovers) at Shoujoji Temple in full bloom on a moonlit night?
In front of the gate, the hagi (bush clovers) that appear in the song of Shoujoji Temple were in full bloom. It’s no wonder. The day before yesterday was the moon on the thirteenth night, so tonight was supposed to be a nearly full moon night.
The garden at Shoujoji where the raccoons gathered?
This is the garden of Shoujoji temple where the raccoon dogs gathered. The trees were thicker than I expected.
Nakanoshimaoohashi Bridge
I went out to sea. The smell of the tide is almost nonexistent.
Self propelling grab hopper barges
There were four large ships of the same shape staying there. These are self-propelling grab hopper barges that collect gravel. I wonder if the sea floor around here is made of gravel.
Nakanoshimaoohashi Bridge
Nakanoshimaoohashi Bridge (taken from Fujimioohashi Bridge). At 27 meters high and 236 meters long, it is the tallest pedestrian bridge in Japan.
See? It looks like a blue crab, don’t you think? I’m sure the designer was aware of that. It’s red and looks like a boiled crab.
The Kimitsu area seen from the Nakanoshimaoohashi Bridge
The view from Nakanoshimaoohashi Bridge is outstanding. Is it really free?
The factory you can see in the picture looks like the Kimitsu Ironworks of Nippon Steel Corporation. The line in the ocean, from the foreground to the factory, I think is a seaweed farm.
After this, we headed to Shiohama Park and just enjoyed the atmosphere of GLOCAL HAPPINESS.
The soap bubbles were a new twist, they had dry ice or some kind of white smoke in them, and when they broke, they smelled sweet.
Although I wanted to know more about the technology of soap bubbles, I quickly left the walk and returned to Kisarazu station.
Umihotaru
The reason I pulled up my walk was because I wanted to go to Umihotaru. Umihotaru celebrates its 20th anniversary on December 18 this year, but I had never been there.
I found out on the train ride to Kisarazu Station that there was a bus service there, so I timed it to coincide with the bus.
I bought a bus ticket in advance at the east exit and got on the bus, and lo and behold, I could use Suica.
It was a large bus, but there were only about five people on board. I took a seat right behind the driver, so I had a good view. Once we got out to the ocean, it didn’t take us long to get there.
Umihotaru Tendon
It was long past lunch time, so I decided to get something to eat first.
Since I was at the beach, I went to Kisarazu-an, which sells seafood, and ordered a single serving of Umihotaru Tendon (1,450 yen). It was a bit of a wait, but it was worth it, as the tempura was crispy and delicious.
Enjoying the functional beauty of the road from Umihotaru
After lunch, I went sightseeing in Umihotaru. Perhaps because it was built in the unique environment of the sea, the roads are very functional and beautiful.
A structure that looks like a ship’s sail
The cover over the escalator also looks cool, like the sail of a ship. But does it have any function? Is it just for looks?
Kawasaki
On the way back from Umihotaru, I took a bus bound for Kawasaki.
We entered a tunnel right after Umihotaru and were already on land when we reached the floating island. However, the floating island was like The Factory Zone, with many attractive plants lined up. Also, the railroad was being used for power transmission, which was an unfamiliar structure.
Hmmm, if I can take a walk, I’d like to do that sometime.
Oh yeah, I paid for the bus fare this time with Suica since I had learned about it beforehand.
Walking data
Course: JR Uchibo Line Kisarazu Station -> Nakanoshimaoohashi Bridge -> JR Uchibo Line Kisarazu
( → Umihotaru → JR Tokaido Line Kawasaki)
Distance : 6.5km (only the walk in Kisarazu)
Time : 1h54m (same as above)
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