5)Sunday June 4, 2000 Jogging around Kawaguchiko-Lake

• I went to Kawaguchiko-Lake with my running mates.
• I visited kawaguchiko-Lake for the first time. It was cloudy on Saturaday and I could not see Mt. fuji. However, I could see beautiful Mt. Fuji on Sunday owing to fine weather.


 
Mt. Fuji View from Kawaguchiko-Bridge
 

• We started to jog at 6:00 AM. The distance around Kawaguchiko-Lake may be 18km.
• I was not good condition since I did not eat and drink before jogging. (I usually take something before jogging even when I jog very early in the morning.)
• I could run with other running mates at the initial stage.
• It was nice to run watching the lake and Mt. Fuji.
• However, after passing 10km point, my running pace was slowing down.
• Luckily, we decided to go back to our lodging before circling the lake since we had to go back by 8:00 AM. (The breakfast starts at 8:00 AM)Thus we ran through the Kawaguchiko-Bridge to take a shortcut.
• It was good to see Mt. Fuji from the Kawaguchiko-Bridge.
  
   
  Mt. Fuji from Kawaguchiko-Bridge
  
  
• I stopped to run on the bridge. I walked to the place where vending machine was set to buy canned drinking water.
• Then, I started to run again slowly. All running mates were gone. Thus I had no idea how far to the lodging and I was a little bit worrying.
• I was relieved when I found the way to the lodging.
• The final road to the lodging was sharp slope and I could not run any more.
• Anyway, I completed 16km morning jogging. It was really hard for me.
• It was very nice to drink beer (!) at the breakfast after taking a morning bath.
• I was surprised to see a lot of Blackbass fishermen around the lake.
• As usual, I was enough to run and drink with my running mates.

4)Sunday May 14, 2000Jogging between Higashi-kurume and Shakujii-park(Nerima-ward):Round trip of approx. 20 km (Weather:cloudy)

• Lately, I have a plan to find my new jogging course in the vicinity referring to the map of Tokyo.
• I decided to jog from my home to the Shakujii-park located near the Shakujii-park station of Seibu Ikebukuro Line.
• First, I tried to find out the exact route by bicycle on May 13, 2000.
• I started to cycle from the starting point of the Tamako-lake cycling road to the Shakujii-park via road alongside the Senkawa irrigation ditch which flows the boundary between Musashino city and Tanashi/Hoya/Nerima-ward. I found that the course was not so good for jogging since the sidewalk was not complete.
• I thing this course is worth jogging. However, I concluded that the course via New Oume highroad is much better since the sidewalk is complete.
• I left my home at 5:30 on May 14. The weather was not good and it seemed to rain shortly.
• On jogging for 20 minutes, I arrived in the New Oume highroad. Shortly after, I came across the Fuji highroad which leads to Shakujii-station. I found that the sidewalk of Fuji highroad was complete and thus I decided to run via Fuji highroad. The road was straight!
• Then I ran for 30 minutes. Turning to the right at the corner of the Shakujii Junior High School, I soon reached Shakujii park. It took just one hour from my home.
  
  Entrance of Shakujii-parkDisplay
  
  Sanpoji Pond
  
  
• When I arrived in the park, it was 6:30 in the morning. However, a lot of people were already walking there.
• There are two ponds in the park:Sanpoji Pond & Shakujii Pond. You can enjoy birdwatching at Sanpoji Pond and fishing/boating at Shakujii Pond.
• There is a jogging course circulating the park.
• I went around Sanpoji Pond. In winter, you can see a lot of migratory birds. However, now only crows and spotbill ducks were visible.
• Fishing is prohibited at Sanpo Pond. (There is a display saying "No fishing!".) However, the youngsters were openly fishing. How bad the latest Japanese morals are!
• I left the park at 6:50. The return route was via New Oume highroad.
• I immediately came across the Shakujii River and found the sidewalk alongside the river. Thus I ran the sidewalk. The water of the Sakujii River was not so good. I reached New Oume highroad via sidewalk after running 1 km.
• I continued to run to my home on New Oume highroad.
• I overslept this morning. (I had a plan to get up at 4:30.) I had little appetite and thus had only one yogurt. Therefore I was getting tired after passing 15 km point. I did neither drink nor eat by then.
• Anyway I kept running and finally arrived in my home at 8:00.
• The total distance of the round trip was approx. 22 km. I was exhausted although the distance was not so long.
• The only demerit of this course was exhaust gas at New Oume highroad. However, in the early morning, the amount of gas is not so much. It is good to see the scenery of Shakujii-park and thus I will sometimes visit there by jogging from now on.

3)May 3, 2000Jogging from Higashi-kurume to Futago-tamagawa (Weather: Fine & shower)

• I cannot trust the latest weather forecast. I am getting angry.
• It was said to be rainy this morning. Thus I gave up jogging to Tama River. However, It was not raining!
• I rushed to prepare to jog and left home at 6:56 AM. (I was scheduled to leave around 5:00 AM.) I felt that the daypack seemed to be heavy.
• I ran to the bank of Tama River thru the Shin-koganei highroad straight to the south. It was cloudy in the early morning. But it was getting fine and hot later.
• This time, I still did not recover from my fatigue of mountaineering on April 29 and I was forced to run slowly.
• I was fine on the next day of mountaineering and I jogged therefore 10km. However, I felt strong pain in my legs two days later! Thus I could not run on that day. I don't want to be getting older!
• When I almost arrived in the bank of Tama River, I felt pain again in my legs. I put up with and finally arrived in the bank at 8:34. The disrance was 16 km. It took 1 hour and 37 minutes.
• I rested for a while and got supplement. I started to run on the bank (cycling road) at 8:40.
  
  View of Koremasa BridgeGuidepost
  
  
  
• On the bank, there is a guidepost every 1 km.
• The May sunlight was powerful and tanned me! It was fine to run on the bank with fine view of Tama River.
• I met a lot of joggers, walkers and cyclists on the bank.
• Many people gathered in the riverside for sunbath and barbecue.
• I continued to run slowly and first passed under the iron bridge of Keio Line.
  
  Keio Line
  
  
• Then, I reached to the iron bridge of Odakyu Line (Noborito). I felt it took much time to arrive there. I was also worrying about the pain in the legs.
  
  Odakyuu Line
  
  
• After passing Noborito, the road covered with gravel continued for a while. It was hard to run on the gravel.
• The distance from Noborito to Futago-tamagawa is approx. 2 km.
• Just before I arrived in Futago-tamagawa, the distance passed 30 km. I felt exhausted.
• I was anxious to drink a canned beer at the riverside when I reached Futago-tamagawa. However, to my regret, there was no liquor shop and thus I was forced to give up. It must be delicious!
• It was 10:30 AM when I arrived in Futago-tamagawa station.
• Then, I returned to my home by train. It was past noon when I came home.
• The weatherman said it would be rainy in the evening. However, it already showered around 13:30. No good weather forecast again!

‚Q�jApril 22, 2000DOGWOOD (Weather: Fine)

Dogwood (Ohizumi Central Park)

Dogwood Tree

Kurome River & Rape Blossoms