Forest is Longing for the Sea 2: with a little bit of seashore … Nojima Park 野島公園 1

 

Yokohama is a port city. Inevitably, we stand near sea, or, to be exact, Tokyo Bay. It does not mean we have lots of beach. Our port has the largest container terminals in Japan (MC3 and MC4 at Hon’moku Terminal), which indicates sea for Yokohama in general has concreted banks and lots of heavy machineries. Forests? Nah. … Er, not so fast. There is at least one natural beach in Yokohama. And it’s near forests. Let me explain.

This is Yokohama’s standard for ‘beach.’
Oh, by the way, could you find a structure on the right of this photo?
 It’s Gundam Factory
where life(?)-sized Gundam robot is on display.
I took this photo not long after this exhibition was opened in Yamashita Pier.
 Gundam moves! (though rudimentary.)
The show continues till March 31, 2023.

Once upon a time, in Mutsu’ura 六浦 area which is on the border of present-day Yokohama, Zushi and Kamakura, the medieval national government of Kamakura Shogunate 鎌倉幕府 （1185-1333） had a commercial port. The place was strategically very important for the City of Kamakura surrounded by steep hills and forests, i.e. the present-day Miura Alps (my post on April 29, 2016). In other words, the port of Mutsu’ura was near forests. It was a beautiful place, with lots of greenery and sea. Inevitably, the area became famous and awarded a name Kanazawa Hakkei 金沢八景 “Kanazawa area with eight beautiful (a kind of Instagram-ready) spots.” There the Regent Family of Kamakura Shogunate built their prayer house and library which is Shomyoji Temple 称名寺 and Kanazawa Bunko 金沢文庫 (my post on December 4, 2015). Fast-forward to 1836, Ukiyoe painter Utagawa Hiroshigue 歌川広重 painted Kanazawa Hakkei, 8 sceneries of the area. One of them was “Sunset from Nojima Island 野島夕照.” The idyllic life on an island of Tokyo Bay not far from Imperial Palace attracted Hirobumi Itoh 伊藤博文, the first modern Prime Minister of Japan and the public enemy No.1 of Korean Peninsula. In 1898, Itoh built his weekend villa on the island. The place became a meeting place for Japanese politicians of the early 20th century. Crown Prince Yoshihito, later Emperor Taisho (1879-1926), visited the place several times.

The former villa of PM Itoh, now a museum of the City.

Frankly, I want to live there!
In a baking-hot summer day,
sea breeze runs through the house.
No air-conditioning necessary.

The vista of Tokyo Bay from the villa.
The structure on the right over the sea is Nissan’s Oppama Factory.

The house is in the late 19^th Century Sukiya Style,
which looks at a first glance very understating,
but the detail is finely elaborated here and there.

Basically, it is composed of organic materials
such as woods, papers, and persimmon tannin,
along with the 19^th century European glasses and metals.
Now, the museum staff polish the wood floor
with organic rice bran.

Those were the days. Mutsu’ura’s sea shores were almost completely reclaimed long ago. Hirakata Bay 平潟湾 where Nojima Island floats at its mouth looks like an artificial canal with concreted bank. Filled former sea is a part of Yokohama’s suburbia. Ditto for Nojima Island. Even though, the island keeps its form as an island and half the Island is a municipal park, Nojima Park, containing former villa of the PM. In the Park starting from the beach front of PM’s villa, there miraculously remains about 500m of natural beach, named Ottomo Beach 乙舳海岸.

Hirakata Bay.
In the middle runs Kanazawa Seaside Line monorail.

Nojima Island seen from Hirakata-cho 平潟町 side.
Beyond the housing, we can see the forest of Nojima Park.
Ottomo Beach lies beyond that greenery.

Non-park part of Nojima Island. It’s an ordinary suburb.

I guess the existence of PM’s property somehow stopped a relentless advance of real-estate developers. The beach is shallow. People must go very far to swim from the shore, which is dangerous. It’s prohibited to swim there. Instead, at low tide people can enjoy clamming up to a certain distance from the shore. It’s a sea of fertility and very near downtown Yokohama. Actually a volunteer organization, named Amamo Revival Collaboration in Kanazawa-Hakkei 金沢八景-東京湾アマモ場再生会議, plants (yes! PLANTS!) and nurtures sea weeds at the bottom of the sea in order for more sea vegetables absorbing CO2 and sustaining marine biodiversity. It’s a co-working scheme of the fishermen, the community, the academia, Toyo Construction Co. (TSE 1890), the City of Yokohama, and the national government. 2018 Environment Management Plan of the City of Yokohama designate this area of sea is given a role to be a place for Yokohama Blue Carbon.

Natural Ottomo Beach.
Tonight’s supper is Clam Chowder!

Clamming can be done under the rule.
No clam smaller than 2cm in width.
No rake of more than 15cm width.
No special fishing tools.
This notice is posted here and there along the beach
+ it has English translation.

In this photo, the scenery beyond the bay is North-east of Ottomo Beach
which is Yokohama Marine Park and
 Yokohama Sea Paradise amusement park.
Marine Park has a swimming beach (and popular for windsurfing).
Both of these places are built on the reclaimed land.
Their beaches are artificial.

There is an explanation why the place is suitable for global warming countermeasures. When we walk Nojima Park and go to the observation platform at ASL 57m, we can see the reason. Let’s stroll the Park next week 😉.

If you find a problem in the Park, please make a contact with

Office for the Park Greeneries in the South 南部公園緑地事務所
Yokohama Municipal Government Creative Environment Policy Bureau 

横浜市環境創造局
Phone: 045-831-8484 

FAX: 045-831-9389