良き昭和の香り残る街 / The Town with the good atmosphere of the Showa period

杉大門通りと柳新道通り。目指して行ったわけではなく、当てずっぽうに歩いて入り込んだ。新宿の舟町と荒木町にあるこのエリアは、戦後から続く飲食街だそうで、かつて花街もあったという。昭和の香りが残る静かな街。初めて歩いた。

The Sugi Daimon Street and The Yanagi Shinmiti Street. I didn't intend to visit this area. I just happened to be there while talking a walk without any plan. This area located in Funamachi and Arakicho, Shinjuku are restaurant area that  has been prospering after the World War II and some part of the neighborhood used to be a red-light district. It is rather a quiet town with the atmosphere of Showa period. It was my first visit, and I would love to come to this place again.

今回の機材

行き当たりばったり / A random walk

日が長くなってきた。たまに通る散歩道を日暮れ前に歩いた。そして思いつきで脇道にそれて、今まで見たことのない街角を目にする。そういう行き当たりばったりの散歩が楽しい。

The day is getting longer. I took a walk along the route which I sometimes take. And I got into a narrow alley and encounter a corner that I had never seen before. I like such a random walk.

今回の機材

竜閑さくら橋から見る神田橋ジャンクション / The view of the Kandabashi Junction of Metropolitan Expressway from the Ryukan-Sakura Bridge

I was invited to a drinking party in Kanda. Before going to the venue, I walked around the area (I always go and see the expressway along the Nihonbashi River). When I reached the river, I found a new bridge, which opened just a month ago. It's really nice to encounter a new view of the expressway, which had been impossible to see before.

神田で開かれた飲み会に参加する前に、近所を散歩した。近所といっても、神田に来るとなんとなく日本橋川にやってきて首都高を見たくなる。でも、この日はそれまでなかった橋があった。渡ってみると首都高速と東京高速道路をつなぐ神田橋ジャンクションをいい感じに眺めることができた。今までは中央線で東京駅と神田駅の間を移動中に、車窓からのみ眺めることができた風景。古いけれど新しい風景。いいな、ここ。

ちなみにこの橋は「竜閑さくら橋（りゅうかんさくらばし）」という名前で、３月に開通したばかりらしい。この橋のおかげで神田と大手町が近くなったんだって。

今回の機材

渋谷工事中 / Shibuya under construction

渋谷の駅前。ちょっと前に撮った姿はもうそこにはなく、常に新しい何かができている。こんな再開発が延々と2029年ごろまで続くそうだ。日本のどこを探しても、駅前でこんな大規模な再開発ができるのは、東急が作った渋谷だけかもしれない。

The redevelopment of Shibuya is under way. Whenever I visit the town, something has been lost, while something new has emerged. I heard this situation will continue until 2029. Shibuya is a city created by Tokyu Corporation, so it may be only this town in Japan where this kind of big redevelopment is possible.

銀座線の新しい橋裏。早く完成しないかな。ゆっくり鑑賞したい。

The bottom of the new bridge for Tokyo Metro Ginza Line. I hope to see the completed appearance soon.

使われなくなったとたんにヴァンダライズされる。こういうのが好きな人は、引退物件探知機でも持っているんだろうか。

I am really admired by the abilities of those who are good at finding retired buildings. Soon after this elevator case stopped working, it got filled with stickers and graffiti. Do they have a radar or something that detects abandoned facilities?

鳩の家は首都高速高架下。だから、しばらくは安泰。

The house for those pigeons will be safe for a while. They live under the Shibuya Line of Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway. There is no plan to rebuild or refurbish of this route yet.

こういう雑多なパイプの群れを見るとワクワクする。

I am thrilled with such pipes at a construction site.

もうすぐ通れるようになる歩道橋。

The new pedestrian bridge over the Route 246 will be finished soon.

あの歩道橋の上から、今は見えなくなった渋谷川を撮った。渋谷川は遊歩道が付いて、きれいに整備されて復活するらしい（下の写真）。

I often took photos of the Shibuya River from the old pedestrian bridge (seen in the image below). The river will be cleaned and will have a promenade.

歩道橋は撤去されたのに、付随するエレベーターはまだ残された。物悲しいたたずまい。

The bridge had been torn down, but the elevator case for it was still standing there. It looked a bit sad.

銀座線の架橋をヒカリエから見る。仮設かもしれないけれど、枕木が銀座線色になっていて微笑ましい。

I saw the tracks for the Ginza Line from Hikarie, a commercial building standing right next to the tracks. The color of the railway sleepers was the same as the Ginza Line's. They made me smile.

見えていた景色の半分が見えなくなった。あちらのビルには展望台ができるみたいだから、それを楽しみに待ちたいね。

The view from Hikarie had been half covered by the new building. I've heard it will have an observation deck. I'm looking forward to the view from there.

2年後くらいに取り壊しに入る東急東横店に入る銀座線。

The tracks of The Ginza Line run into one of the buildings of Tokyu Department Store's Toyoko branch, which will be rebuilt in about two years.

街は変わっても人は変わらない。

The town is changing, but people are not. They may be, but not that fast.

GWは観光客だらけの渋谷。今はGWでなくても多いんだっけ。

A lot of tourists were in Shibuya during Golden Week holidays.

今回の機材