Departing Hakodate at 23:35 on the last ferry, arriving in Aomori at 3:15, I returned to Honshu again on Monday, September 4th. Amidst heavy rain and flood warnings, I thought I’d take shelter from the rain at the ferry terminal, but the rain gradually eased, and I managed to depart, heading south on National Route 7.
Though I started out from Tokyo with brand-new tires, the rear tire’s tread wore down to the thread, and I even had a flat the day before. Along the way, I replaced it with a new Michelin 1/2 at a shop in Aomori City. Between the rain and my hot butt, my Brooks leather saddle was also dented. By turning the nuts and moving it forward about 1 cm, I managed to restore the saddle’s firmness.
函館発 23:35の最終便のフェリーで青森着3:15、９月４日(月)再び本州へ戻ってきました。大雨洪水注意報の出る中、フェリーターミナルで雨宿りかと思いましたが、しだいに雨脚も弱まりなんとか出発、国道７号線を南下します。
東京から新品のタイヤで走り出したものの後タイヤのトレッドがすり減り糸目が露出、前日にはパンクも。途中、青森市内のショップで新品のミシュランの1/2に交換。雨と尻アツでブルックスの皮サドルも凹んでいます。ナットを回し１センチほど前に出すことでサドルの張りを取り戻しました。
This is Hirosaki Castle. The next photo shows Mount Iwaki beyond the lotus pond below the main keep, but unfortunately the weather is poor and the crucial Mount Iwaki is not visible.
Hirosaki Castle of the Tsugaru Domain was built during the Edo period. The original keep burned down when lightning ignited gunpowder; this keep was built two hundred years later.
Currently, the keep is not here; it was moved about 70 meters using a construction method called “hikiya.” The reason is the restoration of its foundation stone walls. Deformations like bulging were observed in the stone walls, and leaving them unattended risked collapse. A few years ago, I saw TV footage of many citizens happily pulling the 400-ton keep along rails with ropes.
The stone walls at that time showed no signs of distortion or bulging, as seen in the photo. The keep was also moved once during the Meiji and Taisho periods for stone wall repairs. It seems the keep will return to its current location in a few years.
At 6:30 AM, I took a quick bath at the public bathhouse in Owani Onsen before departing. The bathing fee was ¥120 for visiting adults. Local seniors and children paid ¥40.
I made a loop around Odate, Noshiro, and the Oga Peninsula. Rain again that night. Thinking it better than pitching a tent, I slept in the waiting room of the unmanned JR Oga Line station, Dedo-hama Station. I intended to stay awake until the last train from Akita at 11:03 PM, but I must have fallen asleep without realizing it.
弘前城です。続いての写真は本丸眼下の蓮池ごしの岩木山なのですが、あいにくの天気で肝心の岩木山が見えません。
津軽藩の弘前城は江戸時代に築城されました。初代の天守は落雷が火薬に引火して焼失、この天守は二百年後のものです。
現在、天守は曳屋(ひきや)と呼ばれる工法で70ｍほど移動されて、ここにありません。その理由は土台の石垣の修復、石垣に膨らみなどの変形が見られ、放置すると崩落のおそれがあるからです。数年前にレールに乗せられた総重量400トンの天守を多くの市民が楽しそうにロープで引っ張る様子をテレビの映像で見ました。
当時の石垣には写真のように歪みも膨らみも見られません。明治から大正にかけても石垣修復のために天守は一度曳屋されています。再び天守が戻されるのは数年先だそうです。
早朝６時半、大鰐温泉の共同浴場でひとっ風呂浴びて出発。入浴料は外来大人120円。地元の老人、小人40円です。
大館、能代、男鹿半島をぐるり一回り。この夜も雨、テントを張るよりもと思い JR 男鹿線の無人駅、出戸浜(でどはま)駅の待ち合い室で寝ることに。秋田発の最終電車 23:03まで起きているつもりでしたが、いつの間にか寝ていました。
The photo was taken in Akita City. I continued south along the Sea of Japan coast through Yamagata and Niigata. “Where’s the horizon?” Days of gloomy, indistinct weather like in the photo persisted.
写真は秋田市内です。さらに山形、新潟と日本海沿いを南下していきます。「水平線はどこ？」写真のようなドンヨリとハッキリしない天気が連日続いていました。
My Life with Bicycles 