Found a big depression on the shaded relief map on my PC.
Started my holiday at Iwatsuki Hisaizu Shrine.
Crossed over the Motoarakawa River.
Arrived at the depression on the map. It was Minamihirano Park (南平野公園), which was constructed as a rainwater reservoir. I had imagined a landscape with spring water, but it was not.
Moved to Kawama Station (川間駅) and began my walk north along the Edogawa River (江戸川).
It was not a major "kaido" route, but I found some old stone statues along the way.
Wow! All these green onions!
Found this river was dry. Kurihori Bridge over the Kurihori River (くり堀川).
A rural atmosphere still remains in this area.
Crossed Route 16.
Climbed up onto the left bank of the Edogawa River.
Mt. Tsukuba (筑波山) appeared far off over the green onion fields.
Descended to the flat ground and continued my walk. Looking up, the sky felt incredibly broad over the freshly mowed bank.
Walked past the Sekiyado Soaring Center (the glider field).
Passed by the football field, where kids were playing.
Four tractor mowers parked and ready for action.
Could actually touch the river water at this point. Imagined a big fish biting a worm.
After the point with the tractors, the grass on the bank grew knee-high. I took a paved path up the bank to see what was on the inner side of the embankment.
From Sekiyadobashi Bridge (関宿橋), the northern mountain ranges were visible in the far distance, stretching beyond the Kanto Plain.
The ruins of Sekiyado Castle.
Finally reached the diversion point of the two rivers. It appeared that the intake gate was managing the water levels, diverting excess water from the Edogawa into the main Tone River (利根川).
Regrettably, I ran out of time for Nakajima Park and the Sekiyado Museum today. I'll save them for next time.
Took a bus at Sekiyadodaimachi after another half-hour walk through the beautiful twilight.
On the way to the bus stop, stopped at Sekiyado Katori-jingu Shrine (香取神宮) to offer a prayer of thanks for the day.
スマホは鮮やかだが実際とは空気感が違う。細密なペンキ絵みたいなものか。Smartphone photos often look too vivid to be real. They almost look like paintings, and despite the high resolution, they fail to capture the true atmosphere of the scene.
