This
week and next let’s stay closer to Oiso Beach. The beach of Oiso Town starts
from the mouth of Hanamizu River 花水川 and ends in front of Oiso Golf Course. From Hanamizu River to Oiso Fishing Port 大磯漁港, it is the oldest Japanese bathing resort for commoners.
From the Port to the Golf Course, it is a beach not suitable for swimming (due
to the current and seabed geography), but popular for weekend anglers. Along
the entire shore, there runs Seisho By-pass Highway 西湘バイパス to the City of Odawara 小田原市. Beside the Seisho By-pass, on June 26, 2020 Japanese
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism opened Oiso’s portion
for the Pacific Cycling Road 太平洋岸自転車道. So, now we can walk/bike along the motorway in
Oiso. Actually, the forests we go locate in a continuous row at the side of Pacific
Cycling Road. They are Oiso Joyama Park 神奈川県立大磯城山公園 and National Meiji Memorial Garden of Oiso 明治記念大磯邸園.
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| Seisho
By-pass Highway near Oiso-nishi IC 大磯西IC, Oiso Prince Hotel. |
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| Oiso’s
Pacific Cycling Road. Oh, important info. The area is VERY popular for joggers, marathon runners, and cyclists. I’ve not been there since last March, but if Niiharu Forest’s 新治市民の森 soaring popularity due to the COVID-19 lockdown is for any indication, I would tell you this: Cyclic Road in Oiso with refreshing see breeze could become even more congested. |
So, in
terms of access, visiting today’s place is not difficult. First, we can drive
and park the car in one of the ample parking spaces of the parks (with parking
fees, er, not cheap, FYI). Or, if you prefer on foot, please start from JR Oiso Station, and take one of these 3 routes. Route A: go to Oiso Fishing Port by
crossing Route #1, and then enter Pacific Cycling Road. … Oh, yes, the Port
also have a large parking space. Also, in Terugasaki Municipal Swimming Pool
right next to the Oiso Fishing Port, there is a municipal office providing free
bike rental service, called Port House Terugasaki ポートハウスてるがさき. Business Hours 9:00-16:00 except December
29-January 3; max bike rental hours = 4 hours; please bring your photo ID and fill-in
an on-site form. The available bikes are 6, which are for “first-come,
first-served” base. (Good Luck!) Route B: without going the Port, walk along
Route #1 to the direction of Odawara which is an itinerary passing the front
gates of the Parks. Route C: take Kanachu Bus services (many, I tell you; time
tables are here) from Oiso Station and get off at Joyama Koen-mae 城山公園前 bus stop, and return the Station on foot by and by.
The last method may be the least demanding to visit these places. In this post,
I start from Oiso Joyama Park, then visit (or poke in) National
Meiji Memorial Garden of Oiso, and return to Oiso Station.
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| The parking for Former
Shigeru Yoshida Residence in Oiso Joyama Park. |
Oiso Joyama Park 大磯城山公園 is made of two parts. One is the beachside forest
called Former Shigeru Yoshida Residence 旧吉田茂邸, and
another is on Joyama hill, which is on the other side crossing Route #1 from
the beachside. The area near the sea was a former residence of Shigeru Yoshida,
the 45th and 48th-51st Prime Minister of Japan.
He is a grandfather of Taro Aso, the 92nd PM and the current Deputy
PM cum Minister of Finance, and of Princess Nobuko, the wife of Prince Mikasano-miya (a cousin of Emperor Heisei). Yoshida lived here even during his
tenure as the PM, and commuted by car to the PM Office next to the Imperial Palace. Yoshida inherited the estate from his (step)father, a wealthy merchant
of Yokohama when he was still a grade schooler, did whatever he wanted with the
place, and died here in 1967. PM Yoshida invited PM Konrad Adenauer of the West
Germany to his Oiso residence. Here, he entertained Crown Prince Akihito
(Emperor Heisei) and Crown Princess Michiko (Empress Michiko) when they were
newly-weds. The biggest achievement of PM Yoshida was the restoration of state
independency in 1952 by San Francisco Peace Treaty. He was proud of it. He
brought a couple of cairn terriers from his state business trip to San Francisco. Their
name was “San” and “Fran.” Later the doggie couple had a cute puppy. Yoshida
named it “Cisco.” All three were buried here.
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| Shigeru Yoshida. This statue stood at the nearest spot to the sea in Yoshida Residence. He’s facing San Francisco, somewhere over there … |
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| The grave of “San” in Yoshida Residence |
Inevitably, the place
carries the history of Japanese Post World War II period. The area is made of
the house Yoshida lived and his forest which is rather too large to be called a
“garden.” Each room of the house has their story. So does the design of the
garden. The reason why this place is now a prefectural park is a part of
history for the nation and for Yoshida Family, which would be of Downton Abbey.
(I mean, about power, money and love, Wooooow.) Anyway, talking about their
detail is not for this blog, so I skip it. The point I have to tell you is
this: the entire Yoshida Residence is a jumble of styles Yoshida fancied during
his 89 years’ life. And so for his “garden.” Shigeru was an adopted son from a
poor but politically active family in Kochi Prefecture 高知県. He maintained the connection with his biological family and introduced
many vegetations from Kochi that is definitely warmer than Kanagawa. After
graduating from University of Tokyo, he became a diplomat and stationed in
China, Korea, and Europe during the early 20th century. He brought
home his impression of scenery from each of his assignments. They transformed
the house of his father’s garden in the original vegetation for Oiso’s soil in
whatever way to be a part of Shigeru’s world. The result was a towering Phoenix
canariensis right next to large traditional Japanese ponds adorned by plum
and cherry blossoms, and a bamboo forest. The palm tree is to commemorate his
achievement in California where lots of palm were lined for boulevards.
Traditional ponds were specially designed to welcome Crown Prince and Princess,
and the bamboos were from the village of his birth family.
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| The Yoshida Residence
early spring, 2020. The hill (a part of Yoshida estate) behind the house maintains the original vegetation of the place. The ponds in front of us was redesigned to welcome Crown Prince and Princess. It smells marvelous when plum blossoms are in full-bloom, like in this photo … |
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| The very important palm
trees, for Yoshida, and in Japanese history. |
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| The bamboos Yoshida brought from his birth-town in Kochi. |
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| The design of each room,
and the entire house are a sort of amalgam of architectural styles starting from Japanese classic to Western modern. But there is one unified concept for sure: from every room Yoshida used, he could admire beautiful Mt. Fuji. |
Yoshida Residence was
once famous for its beautiful forest of black pine (Pinus thunbergii).
Yoshida himself confessed he loved to admire his “garden” of pines. Unfortunately,
they were almost annihilated by pine wilt disease brought in by Americans after
1945. Hmmmmmm … it’s very symbolic … The pine trees loved by Japanese PM who
negotiated with Americans to restore independence after the defeat of the war
was exterminated by germs brought by Americans … Anyway, after the infection, Kanagawa
Prefecture treated the area and replanted the young, disease-tolerant black
pines which is the main black pine trees these days for Yoshida Residence. The
place has a strolling route for the young forest. Not many tourists enter there.
I like its quiet atmosphere with sound of the sea. Maybe PM felt the same way
with his older pines …
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| Young forest of pines. |
The parking for Yoshida
Residence was a part of rose garden as the PM was the president of the Japan
Rose Society. (He was proud of his “English” accent.) Now the rose garden
itself was less than 1/4 of its former size, as the space was modified in 1979 for
President Jimmy Carter and the PM Masayoshi Ohira to have a meeting at Yoshida
Residence. Before the larger rose garden, the area was on a border for 3 summer
houses. One was for Yoshida family, another was of Mitsui Family whose main
area we visit next week, and the third was for Tsunatsune Hashimoto 橋本綱常, the first
general director of Japan Red Cross Hospitals and the court physician for Crown
Prince Yoshihito (Emperor Taisho, the great grandfather of the current Emperor).
When he was a schoolboy, the Crown Prince visited many times his physician’s
place to play. Of course, the climate of Oiso was desirable for young prince.
Yet, there was another reason why his father, Emperor Meiji, allowed his heir
to stay in Oiso. In Yosida Residence, there is one architecture, called Shichiken
Doh 七賢堂, which is to commemorate 7 politicians contributed to industrialization
of Japan since Meiji Restoration of 1868. It was first built by Hirobumi Itoh,
the first PM of modern Japan, in his summer house that was a neighbor for
Yoshida Residence. In 1960, Yoshida moved it to his estate. In 1968 after his
death, PM Eisaku Sato, the 61st to 63rd PM, added Yoshida
to be commemorated in this structure together with the other 6 seniors already
listed there. The existence of such structure tells the reason why this beach
was the playground for the Crown Prince. Next weeks, we’ll visit the forests
which have the connection with these Japanese modern historical biggies. Stay
tuned. 😃
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| The remnant of rose garden |
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| Shichiken Doh built in 1903 and moved here in 1960. |
Oh, I have to tell you
this. We have to pay the entrance fee to see the inside of Yoshida Residence, a
part of Oiso Municipal Museum. BUUUT, enjoying the forest of PM Yoshida is free of charge. 😄 We can enter there between 9:00-16:30, Tue-Sun (except every 1st
day of month and December 29 – January 3). Next to the Yoshida Residence is
Oiso Prince Hotel that will be a satellite Olympics Village for Sailing Competition in Tokyo 2020 Games. I imagine during the summer of 2021, Olympians
may visit Yoshida Residence to have a little stroll. 😊
Oiso Town Hall
183 Higashikoiso,
Oiso-cho, Naka-gun, Kanagawa, 255-8555
〒255-8555 神奈川県中郡大磯町東小磯183
Phone: 0463-61-4100
Fax: 0463-61-1991
http://www.town.oiso.kanagawa.jp/isotabi/index.html
http://www.town.oiso.kanagawa.jp/oisomuseum/index.html
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