Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: the Onagigawa Bashi, the Artist Hiroshige, and Gohon Matsu (小奈木川五本まつ)

March 2012 (35.6849 Degrees, 139.8168 Degrees) Onagigawa Bridge

From the Clover Bridge, we turned west onto the Onagigawa, and came to the Onagigawa Bashi, which is decorated with plaques, sculptures, and pine trees: all to commemorate one of Japans most respected artists, Hiroshige (1797 to 1858).

Hiroshige painted One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (which was what they used to call Tokyo). His ink drawings were carefully put onto wooden blocks which were then carved and made into prints. These prints (in the Ukiyo-e style) revolutionized art not only in Japan but all over the world.

Print #97 is called "Five Pines and the Onagi Canal" (小奈木川五本まつ Ongagigawa Gohonmatsu) and it was supposed to be where my photograph was taken (see print below). This is despite the fact that only one pine remained at the time he made the painting and that the Onagi Canal was straight even 150 years ago. Oh well, who said art has anything to do with reality. 

We'll take another look at the Onagigawa Bridge tomorrow.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: the Onagigawa Bashi, the Artist Hiroshige, and Gohon Matsu (小奈木川五本まつ) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Clover Bridge (クローバー橋) across the Onagigawa (2)

March 2012 (35.685 Degrees, 139.821 Degrees) Clover Bridge

A last look at the Clover Bridge. From this view we can clearly see one of the four abutments with unusual interior shear keys to resist lateral movement (from collisions or from earthquakes).

Collision protection systems have become more sophisticated, but a heavy barge travelling at 10 knots has too much momentum to be stopped by any energy dissipation system.

This area of Tokyo is full of art museums and historical artifacts. The Japanese are careful to preserve the past. After the 1995 Kobe Earthquake, the city left damaged lampposts and damaged bridge columns in place with placards to remind people of what had happened.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Clover Bridge (クローバー橋) across the Onagigawa (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Clover Bridge (クローバー橋) across the Onagigawa (1)

March 2012 (35.685 Degrees, 139.821 Degrees) Clover Bridge

Where the Yoko Jikkengawa and the Onagigawa come together, a steel 'X' shaped footbridge provides access to the four riverbanks. This bridge is similar to the Sakura Bridge over the Sumida and also to many pedestrian overcrossings over busy intersections in Japan. The bridge was built in 1994 and has a span length of about 100 meters.

I wonder what the grillage where the legs come together is for? Perhaps it acts as collision protection from the barges that still travel on these canals.

Beyond the Clover Bridge is the Sluice Gate Bridge that controls the flow of water from the southern Yoko Jikkengawa into the Onagigawa. In the Google Earth photo below you can see the water flowing into the Onagigawa just south of the Clover Bridge. We turned west and we were going to take the Onagigawa to the Sumida, but the Ogibashi Lock Gate (on the extreme left) was closed and so we had to turn around.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Clover Bridge (クローバー橋) across the Onagigawa (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Oshima Bridge (下流方面) across the Yoko Jikkengawa

March 2012 (35.686 Degrees, 139.821 Degrees) Oshima Bridge

The Oshima Bridge is a three span steel girder bridge similar to the Shimizu Bridge. My feeling is that all of the bridges across the Yoko Jikkengawa were similar to this one in the 1930s but the narrow ones were eventually replaced.  

This is a pretty area with river promenades, Sarue-Onshi Park (a big nature area), and the location of Hiroshige's woodblock print 'Five Pines' is just ahead on the Onagi Canal. In a couple of days we'll compare the current view with the print (made in 1858) to see how much has changed in Tokyo.

Below is a closer view of the Oshima Bridge or Ojimabashi (下流方面).

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Oshima Bridge (下流方面) across the Yoko Jikkengawa by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Motomura (本村橋) Bashi across the Yoko Jikkengawa

March 2012 (35.689 Degrees, 139.820 Degrees) Motomura Bridge

The next bridge is the single span, steel girder Motomurabashi. For some reason, it's also called the Honmurabashi which means Village Books Bridge, although I couldn't figure out why and the Google translated website was not of much help. However, it did say that this bridge was built in 1977 and replaced the previous bridge at this site that was built in 1927. So the Shimizu Bridge (just north to the north) was left standing while this bridge was replaced. Probably with a wider structure to handle the increased traffic on Route 50 (Shin-Ohashi Dori).

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Motomura (本村橋) Bashi across the Yoko Jikkengawa by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Shimizu (横十間川 清水橋) Bridge across the Yoko Jikkengawa (2)

March 2012 (35.692 Degrees, 139.820 Degrees) Shimizu Bridge

A view from underneath the Shimizu Bridge. Construction started in 1927, about 85 years ago. The columns are strangely discolored and eroded but the girders look in pretty good shape. I found a website that talks about this bridge as well as many of the other bridges across what they call the Jitsuken River. However, the Google Translator is very difficult to understand.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Shimizu (横十間川 清水橋) Bridge across the Yoko Jikkengawa (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Shimizu (横十間川 清水橋) Bridge across the Yoko Jikkengawa (1)

March 2012 (35.692 Degrees, 139.820 Degrees) Shimizu Bridge

The next bridge is a three span haunched steel girder crossing on multicolumn bents and seat-type abutments. This structure carries two traffic lanes and sidewalks and it looks like it was built in another era. The railing was designed to look like wood with a solid portion (to prevent falls) above the piers. The haunched girders were designed to resist the large moments and shears at the supports and a drop-in span was placed in the middle of the bridge.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Shimizu (横十間川 清水橋) Bridge across the Yoko Jikkengawa (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Metropolitan Expressway (Komatsugawa Route 7) across the Yoko Jikkengawa

March 2012 (35.693 Degrees, 139.820 Degrees) Metropolitan Expressway

The Metropolitan Expressway has an odd shape as it goes from eight to six to four lanes as it goes from the west to the east. There are on and off ramps and even a toll booth on the west side of the river (see Google Earth Map below). It has a steel box girder superstructure on a hammerhead bent in the middle of the river and multicolumn bents on each side of the river to support this elevated expressway.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Metropolitan Expressway (Komatsugawa Route 7) across the Yoko Jikkengawa by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Tabisho Bridge across the Yoko Jikkengawa

March 2012 (35.694 Degrees, 139.820 Degrees) Tabisho Bridge

A utility bridge blocks our view of the Tabisho Bridge, a three span steel girder bridge carrying two traffic lanes and sidewalks. It carries one way traffic moving east up over the river to provide sufficient vertical clearance for the barges.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Tabisho Bridge across the Yoko Jikkengawa by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Matsushiro Bridge across the Yoko Jikkengawa

March 2012 (35.696 Degrees, 139.819 Degrees) Matsushiro Bridge

The next bridge carries Route 14 (the Keiyo Doro) across the Yoko Jikkengawa. It's a single span steel girder bridge that is as wide as it is long (40 m by 40 m) and is supported on seat-type abutments. Keiyo Doro is a major thoroughfare with six lanes of traffic and wide sidewalks. The bridge is plain but effective at carrying a great deal of traffic. The river is more congested and with less vegetation in this densely populated part of Tokyo.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Matsushiro Bridge across the Yoko Jikkengawa by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges; Sobu Line Bridge across the Yoko Jikkengawa

March 2012 (35.697 Degrees, 139.819 Degrees) Sobu Line Bridge

The next bridge carries four sets of Sobu Railway Line tracks across the Yoko Jikkengawa. It's a multispan steel girder bridge on concrete pier walls. The bridge carries trains in and out of Kinshicho Station on the west side of the river (Kameido Station is a little east of the bridge).

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges; Sobu Line Bridge across the Yoko Jikkengawa by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Kinshi Bridge across the Yoko Jikkengawa

March 2012 (35.698 Degrees, 139.819 Degrees) Kinshi Bridge

Continuing down the Yoko Jikkengawa we came to the three span steel girder Kinshibashi, which was partially hidden behind a utility bridge.

The Kinshi Bridge is a narrow two lane roadway bridge with wide sidewalks and little ornamentation other than nice, wrought iron name plates at each end of the bridge. Note the dense vegetation along this part of the river. Also note how clear and still the reflections are.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Kinshi Bridge across the Yoko Jikkengawa by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Tenjin Bridge across the Yoko Jikkengawa

March 2012 (35.701 Degrees, 139.820 Degrees) Tenjin Bridge

The next bridge across the Yokojikken Canal is the Tenjin (天神) 'Heavenly Gods' Bridge. It's just around the corner from the Kameido Tenjin Shrine, which is most likely where the bridge gets its name.  It carries Kuramaebashi Road, which is the name of the bridge that carries this road across the Sumida River.

The bridge is a quaint, Art Deco style structure with flowers cast into the elaborately decorated lamp posts and railings. It's a single span steel girder bridge (what appears to be a support at midspan is actually for a utility bridge behind our roadway structure).

There are boardwalks on both sides of this part of the canal. It must make for a pleasant stroll in this largely residential area.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Tenjin Bridge across the Yoko Jikkengawa by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Shinmei Bridge across the Yoko Jikkengawa

March 2012 (35.705 Degrees, 139.819 Degrees) Shinmei Bashi

We have turned south onto the Yoko jikken-gawa (横十間川), which translates as 'Jitsuken beside the river.'  The canal we were just on is the Kita jikken-gawa (北十間川), which translates as 'Jitsuken river north.' Both of these canals were dug during the Edo Period (between 1603 and 1868) when Japan was ruled by the Tokugawa shogunate. Tokyo, which used to be called Edo, was their home and so they conducted many civil works to improve the city, including these canals, perhaps meant to help drain the area.

We passed under the Yanagishima Bridge as we turned into the canal. The next bridge is the blue, three span, steel girder Shinmei Bridge, which I didn't photograph. However the next bridge as we continued south is the Kurihara Bashi, a concrete box girder bridge that crosses the Yokojikken-gawa in a single span. The bridge carries the busy Kasuga Dori Road, which ends on the east side of the river.

The river is lined with apartment buildings. I read somewhere that this area has one of the highest population densities in the world, which seems hard to believe. The river banks are covered in reeds and trees, perhaps to help clean the canal, which used to be poisoned with dioxins.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Shinmei Bridge across the Yoko Jikkengawa by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Yanagishima Bridge across the Yoko Jikkengawa

March 2012 (35.708 Degrees, 139.819 Degrees) Yanagishima Bridge

Another view of the Yanagishima Bridge as we turn towards the Yoko Jikkengawa Canal. This bridge is about 80 ft wide and so the steel girder spans are supported by multicolumn, reinforced concrete bents. A blue water main is on the south side of the bridge. The recently studied Pedestrian Overcrossing and the Jikken Bashi can be seen in the Google Earth photo below.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Yanagishima Bridge across the Yoko Jikkengawa by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Confluence of Kita Jikkengawa and Yoko Jikkengawa

(35.708 Degrees, 139.819 Degrees) Confluence of the Kita and Yoko Canals

We have arrived at the confluence of the Kita Jikkengawa and the Yoko Jikkengawa. The Kita Jikkengawa continues to the west until it meets the Sumidagawa. The Yoko Jikkengawa goes due south to the Onagigawa. In this photo the canal has switched back to soldier piles. Perhaps they were able to replace them with stone retaining walls before the Sky Tree opened in May.

The Jikken Bashi is the haunched single span steel girder bridge on the right (across the Kita Jikkengawa) and the Yanagishima Bashi is the three span bridge on the left (across the Yoko Jikkengawa). In tomorrow's blog, we are going to turn to the south and away from the Sky Tree.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Confluence of Kita Jikkengawa and Yoko Jikkengawa by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Kita Jikkengawa POC

March 2012 (35.707 Degrees, 139.820 Degrees) Kita Jikken Gawa POC

The next bridge over the Kita Jikkengawa is a steel pedestrian overcrossing (POC) with long ramps parallel to the river and to the road (Asakusa Dori) south of the river. It's similar to a POC built in the U.S. with landings to give people a chance to rest on their way up.

The road is above the river and so the POC is high above the river to provide vertical clearance above the road. Just beyond the POC is the confluence of the Yoko Jikkengawa where we are going to turn south (instead of continuing to the Sumida River). We can now see the Sky Tree Tower through the clouds.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Kita Jikkengawa POC by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Sakaibashi across the Kita Jikkengawa

March 2012 (35.706 Degrees, 139.824 Degrees) Sakai Bashi

The next bridge is a two span steel girder bridge that was built in 1974. Pedestrian walkways were built along the east and west shoulders. In the background we can see another water main crossing the canal. The Sky Tree Tower is now visible in the distance.

The canal has been given quite a facelift. The grim soldier piles have been replaced by clean, stone-faced retaining walls and there's a new rail and a pleasant walkway along the canal.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Sakaibashi across the Kita Jikkengawa by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Fukujin Bashi across the Kita Jikkengawa

March 2012 (35.705 Degrees, 139.836 Degrees) Fukujin Bashi

Our first obstacle was at the single span steel girder Fukujin Bridge where a barge blocked our passage. These barges became more frequent as we continued west.

The Fukujin Bashi is as wide as it is long (21.3 m long and 22 m wide) and it carries five traffic lanes and two sidewalks for Route 306 across the Kita Jikkengawa. There is also a water main on the east side of the bridge. The bridge was built in 1983 and it's owned by the City of Tokyo.

Soldier piles were driven within a few feet of the canal. I would imagine they are to contain the water during floods. However, a few feet beyond the bridge the soldier piles have been replaced by stone retaining walls and gardens. I would guess that the barges and all the construction is to make the canal more presentable for the opening of the Sky Tree Tower.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Fukujin Bashi across the Kita Jikkengawa by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Shin Ohara Bashi across the Kita Jikkengawa

March 2012 (35.703 Degrees, 139.834 Degrees) Shin Ohara Bridge

After going under the Koto Shinbashi we turned west onto the narrower and less manicured Kita Jikken-gawa. Soldier piles were put up along this section of the river and so human activity is hidden from view.

The first bridge is the Shin Ohara Bashi, a wide steel box girder bridge (built in 1976) that carries vehicles without sidewalks. Just behind it is the tiny Ohara Bashi, which carries bicyclists and pedestrians and further back is the Tobu Kameido Railway Bridge, which was built at grade. The Shin Ohara Bashi has a 40 m long span over the river on concrete piers with shallower approach spans at each end. Note the big sound walls on the barrier rails.

We are approaching the Sky Tree Tower, which is hidden by the overcast sky but which will eventually dominate the landscape.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Shin Ohara Bashi across the Kita Jikkengawa by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Koto Shinbashi across the Kyu Nakagawa

March 2012 (35.703 Degrees, 139.836 Degrees) Koto Shinbashi

The next bridge is at the confluence of the Kyu Naka-gawa and the Kita Jikken-gawa. It's a single span roadway bridge with small arch ribs and deep girders. The superstructure sits on big concrete abutments that include stairways and three ramps at the west abutment.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Koto Shinbashi across the Kyu Nakagawa by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Sobu Railway Bridge across the Kyu Nakagawa

March 2012 (35.702 Degrees, 139.838 Degrees) Sobu Railway Bridge

The next bridge up the Kyu Nakagawa is the Sobu Railway Line Bridge. It carries six or eight tracks on several superstructures on a big pier in the middle of the canal. This railway line continues across the Arakawa as shown in my blog from May 23rd. If you look closely, you can see the Sobu Line subway train crossing the bridge in this photo. On Google Earth, the bridge looks like it has a through girder superstructure (closer to us) and a through truss superstructure (further from us).

The canal makes a bend to the west and then another bend to the east, but we'll turn onto the Kita Jikkengawa Canal before it turns back to the east.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Sobu Railway Bridge across the Kyu Nakagawa by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Fureai Bridge across the Kyu Nakagawa

March 2012 (35.701 Degrees, 139.841 Degrees) Fureai Bridge

Just north of the Shin Nakagawa Bashi is this pretty basket handle pedestrian arch bridge. Just a few cables support the deck and there's a widened section in the center so people can stand at the railing and contemplate the river flowing past. The bridge deck is beautifully tiled and the whole bridge was obviously designed to give pedestrians a pleasant experience.

I wish the photo was a little sharper, but by this time my lens was getting covered by drops of water that I wasn't always able to wipe off without shirking my paddling duties.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Fureai Bridge across the Kyu Nakagawa by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.