Trip Log 14: Tama River Ride

Tama River Ride
2019/05/04 – 2019/05/05

Thanks to the abdication of the Heisei Emperor and the coronation of his son, the Reiwa Emperor we had a 10 day holiday in Japan. I should have planned a longer trip but we had out-of-town guests for the beginning part of the holiday and other events schedule through the middle of the holiday. On top of that, I wasn’t sure if I would get Mad Max, the Surly Blue Beast, back from Blue Lug Bicycle Shop where it was being overhauled and repaired in time for the holiday. As it turns out, I did get Max back the week before the holiday began. Anyway, by mid-week, watching YouTube videos of other peoples tours kindled in me a yearning to be on the road.

Day 1
After eating lunch, doing the dishes and taking a late shower, I began packing my gear. The weather forecast was for a storm from 3 pm to 6 pm. With a little luck I might make it the 8 km to the Tama River and get my camp set up before the rain began. I had no such luck. I don’t think I was even halfway before the rain started coming down. It was only about 3:30 and the sky got dark. I pulled into a convenience store to unpack my 100 yen poncho and turn on my lights. The chinsy poncho broke right away and was too small to cover my body thoroughly. It was too light and even though it was wet the wind caught it and blew it around. It was next to worthless.

I was only about 4 km or so from the river; a short ride in even poor conditions. I knew I could take refuge in the parking structure next to the river when I got there. It was raining pretty heavy but since I was already wet thanks to my worthless poncho I thought “how much worse can it get?” The answer came to me like the flash of lighting that lit up the sky and the crash of thunder that rumbled behind me; much worse. As I turned onto Koshu Kaido the wind whipped up and the rain came down even heavier making it very difficult to see. I got off the road and onto Shinden Ryokudo. Without cars it felt a bit safer but that was where the rain started to turn into a slushy kind of hale. I glad it wasn’t quite solid but it still stung a little when it hit me in the ear.

I wasn’t too worried about lightning because I was in the city where the tall buildings were a more likely target for Zeus’s wrath. But when I heard the thunder behind me it was still startling.

I finally made it to the parking structures but I found it offered scant protection from the rain because the ceiling of the structure was the metal plates and i-beams that made up the deck of the second story. There were so many gaps and the beams seemed to concentrate the water. Under the largest sections of the metal plates of the upper deck it was possible to get out of the rain somewhat but there was still water everywhere. I wasn’t alone under the car park. Many picnickers that didn’t read the sky well or didn’t have proper shelter were scrambling back to the parking garage and their cars with their soaked picnic gear and sodden children.

Despite the rain the atmosphere under the parking garage was festive and everyone seemed to be taking the rain in stride.

The rain let up sooner than I expected and I was making my soggy way over the levee and the bike trail to the picnic area on the banks of the river where I could set up my tent. When I got to the top of the levee I was surprised by several things. First, many picnickers were still in the picnic area and didn’t show any signs of leaving and, second, the river wasn’t in danger of flooding but there were so many puddles in flat area between the levee and the river. I headed upstream where there were more trees in the hope of finding fewer puddles. I eventually found a place that was slightly less soggy than the others.

By the time I finished setting up my camp the rain had completely stopped and the sky was starting to brighten. I changed into dry clothes and made dinner. I brought a choice of two rice dishes. Keema curry or dry curry. I went for the keema curry. I tried a new way of cooking rice. Instead of leaving the rice on the flame until all the water boils out I brought the water and rice to a boil for about a minute then put the lid on and turned off the heat. I let the rice sit for about 15 minutes. It turned out good. It was sticky and fluffy but didn’t stick to the pan. I probably could have steamed it a little longer but it wasn’t bad. I went for the keema curry this time.

Day 2
The day dawned clear and warm. I hung out at the park until about 9 am in the hope that my tent and my clothes from the day before would dry out. My shorts almost got dry, I didn’t need the shirt but the shoes were definitely still soggy. I decided there was no point in wearing dry socks with wet shoes so I put my still damp socks on from the day before and set off. By 9 the park was already beginning to fill up. I had to weave my way through the forest of tents. It gave me just a small inkling of what refugee tent cities might be like.

I headed west following the Tama River upstream. I took a brief break in Akishima at the site of the tragic Hachiko Line train wreck because I saw a sign with a big whale on it. The English text was brief but informative. I didn’t take the time to read the Japanese. The sign was just erected a month ago. It is located near Kujira Koen. Kujira means whale in Japanese and I always thought that was a funny name for a park that was no where near the ocean. Now I know why it is called Kujira Park. Because of the whale fossil found there!

As I pedaled through Fussa Park I passed a kite flying event. There, groups of men were preparing very large kites. The kites were made of paper and sticks and had colorful pictures that looked like traditional ukiyoe pictures. I estimate that the kites were about three and a half meters tall.

I rolled onto Hamura where I had my lunch at the headwaters of Tamagawa Josui, the historical canal that has its source in the Tama River. My shoes were nearly dry by then so I changed into a fresh pair of socks.

I really had no specific destination in mind. After lunch I decided to cross the river on the footbridge and try to find my way downstream on the Kanagawa Prefecture side. That didn’t last long. There is no trail or cycling road on the Kanagawa side across from Hamura. I followed the river as close as possible on the streets but I soon found myself at Nagata Bridge and crossing back over to the Tokyo side of the river. From the bluff above the river on the Kanagawa side I caught a glimpse of four of the kites flying high above the Tama River valley.

By the time I got back to Fussa Park, there were seven huge kites aloft. I got there just in time to see them reel them back in. They are impressive and majestic creatures in the air but need about 6 people to carry them on land. It was a good day to fly a kite because the wind was very strong (and in my face on the way home). From Fussa Park I was riding straight into the teeth of the wind most of the time. It felt like there was a hand on the back of my bike pulling me back.

After the park, I caught up to a man riding a bicycle with a prosthetic leg. After my experience on Oshima with only one pedal I have a new appreciation for the difficulties of riding with a handicap. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was training for the Tokyo Special Olympics next summer as he was kitted out like a racer. The Tama Cycling Road is a popular place for road racing teams to train.

Lessons Learned:
I learned quite a few lessons on this short trip. The first being that the best way to stay dry while riding in the rain is to not ride in the rain. I know that sounds fairly obvious but if there is no pressing need to ride in the rain, don’t. The second lesson is that having good rain gear is important. For ongoing comfort it is important to try to keep your feet dry. Clothes will dry out fairly quickly once the sun comes out but shoes take time to dry.

As you can see from the video (if you have already watched it) that I brought the old orange tent. Now there was no reason I couldn’t have brought my usual green nylon tent but I made some alterations to the old orange, canvas tent and I wanted to try them out. I sewed in snaps along the bottom to help close the gap between the floor and walls. My theory is that will help keep rain from seeping in under the wall. I also put some velcro on the door and window to make them close better. All-in-all, it was an improvement but still not very good. Tent technology, if that is a thing, has come a long way since my castoff canvas tent was new. I really like having the extra space of a two-person tent. I have no excuse to buy a new tent, but maybe I will just window shop for a cheap one. One thing that became clear is that regardless of which tent I use I need a ground cloth to help keep the tent floor dry and clean.

The final thing I can think of is that I need to find the leak in my air mattress. When it is properly inflated it is comfortable enough to get a good night’s rest but when it’s not it is no better than sleeping on the hard ground. I think the leak must be around the valve or maybe the seams. I checked it once before but I couldn’t find it. I don’t think it leaks until I lay down on it.

Akishima Whale.
In August 1961, a whale fossil was discovered here in Tama River. The fossil was about 13.5 m long, (44′ 3″ for the metrically challenged. I’m looking at you, fellow Americans) and is related to the species of Eschrichtiidae or the gray whale. The whale is thought to have lived approximately 1.77-1.95 million years ago, based on the stratum where the fossil was found. The fossil was an almost complete skeleton and featured in the press at the time. The discovery was an epoch-making event that put “Akishima City” on the map. Since then, the fossil has been popular among citizens as the “Akishima Whale”.

The finding of the fossil indicates that this area was a shallow sea about 2 million years ago. The fossils of shark teeth and shellfish have also been discovered from this area. In addition, Stegadon Aurorae and Elaphurus Davidianus fossils have been found from the upper course of the Tama River.

In January 2018, the research of the whale fossil revealed that the Akishima Whale was a new species. The official scientific name “Eschrichtius Akishimaensis” was given to the fossil. Eschrichtiidae or the gray whale is in the family of baleen whales with a single extant species, the gray whale, which inhabits the North Pacific. Studies of the fossil indicates that the Akishima Whale is a different species from the existing gray whale.

Rail Disaster
On August 24, 1945, just 9 days before the end of World War II, two passenger trains collided with each other on the bridge that crosses the Tama River. 105 people died from the collision or from falling into the river while another 67 were injured. It is still considered one of the worst rail disasters in Japan’s history. The official cause is heavy rain and flooding. There is a memorial along the bike path to commemorate the disaster. Two sets of steel train wheels are exhibited with a plaque (in Japanese) that tells of the accident.