“Locals know about it like it’s nothing.”
“But people from outside the area have no idea.”
This is our “Do you know this spot in ○○-cho?” corner, where we introduce little curious spots like that.
First, take a look at this photo↓
This is the kind of side path that an overly curious elementary school boy might accidentally feel tempted to charge into.
If you fell in on a rainy day, it would be no joke, so you absolutely must not go through here.
Looking at the north side of this waterway, there was some kind of handle.
Oh! Could this be a sluice gate?!
Why is there a step stool here? It’s too high to crouch down and turn it, so is it for shorter people? But for taller people it would just get in the way, so it’s a mystery.
Near this sluice gate, there’s something called Gokurakubashi Bridge.
So “上大市” used to be written as “上太市” in the old days.
This waterway is connected to Hinokuchicho.
It seems like a pretty historically significant bridge.
Here’s Gokurakubashi Bridge↓
It was an ordinary concrete bridge.
Maybe it felt more like “Gokurakubashi” back in the day, but it probably deteriorated and was replaced with concrete;;
A Passage Connecting to Hinokuchicho
There’s a Maruhachi along National Route 171 in Kamioichi.
This stretch of National Route 171 doesn’t have a pedestrian crossing, so I had thought you couldn’t get to Hinokuchicho, but then…
There was this side path↓
This looked suspicious. I was sure there had to be something here.
There were stairs that looked like they led to some kind of underground passage!!
But I had come by bicycle that day, so I was stuck.
I gave up and went around to the other side, and on the way↓
Oh! What’s this?
You can get through by bicycle too!
Here’s what it looks like inside↓
If I went any farther, I’d be entering Hinokuchicho territory, so I turned back.
Looking up at the ceiling↓
Is this some kind of ventilation fan? It looks like it’s aged quite a bit.
I wonder how long passages like this are supposed to last.
If they redid the construction, it seems like it would turn into a pretty major project.
Speaking of which, when I was making a little detour through a park…
There really was a park named “Kamioichi Yorimichi Park”!!
If you go around to the opposite side of Kamioichi Yorimichi Park, there’s another park called “Kamioichi Aozora Park.”
There were tons of jump ropes tied to the trees.
Kamioichi is full of charm. But this is probably only a tiny part of it.
If you want to know more, please go check it out.
(If you find something, or if you’re wondering “Why didn’t you introduce this place??”, please send the info to Nishitsu via our information form.)
Kamioichi is here on the map↓
The address is Kamioichi, Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture.
The End
