SUMMARY
Install a necklace of traditional Japanese-style lanterns along either side of the Asahi River and encircling Okayama Castle, and convert the riverside pathway to a natural surface.
Next photo: Lanterns at Takebe Taisha, Shiga Prefecture.
Next photo: Lanterns at Takebe Taisha, Shiga Prefecture.
Next photo: Lantern at Miyajima, Hiroshima Prefecture
JUSTIFICATION
The Asahi River is Okayama City’s greatest natural asset. The elegant S-shaped curve of the River between Tsurumi-bashi and Aioi-bashi is the axis of the city’s architectural and natural beauty, a natural gathering point for residents and tourists alike.
Public pathways run along either side of the river, but these paths have far from fulfilled their potential. Whereas along the east side (Korakuen side) there is an attractive natural path, along the west side there is a patchwork of different surfaces and railings. The west-side path has the character of a functional municipal park, one that allows people to view the river but does not possess beauty itself (save the section immediately beneath Okayama Castle). In its present state, this path cannot be counted as a tourist attraction.
By installing a necklace of traditional-style lanterns of stone or wood and converting the path to a natural surface, it would be possible to transform the Asahi riverside it into significant draw for tourists and a popular place for dining. Together with Korakuen, Okayama Castle, a new Tsukimi-bashi (see previous section), and other attractions, an Asahigawa Lantern Walk would form a tourist circuit substantial enough to convince many visitors to spend a night in Okayama rather than heading off directly to Kurashiki or Shikoku, as most do now.
Consider the experience of the city of San Antonio, Texas, USA. In the past, the San Antonio riverside was considered a dangerous area and there were even plans to pave over the river. But the people of San Antonio saved the River and transformed it with a landscaped path lined with restaurants, shops and bars. Today the San Antonio River Walk is a famous example of tourism development and urban revitalization.
Another example of successful riverside development - this one closer to home - is that of Kyoto’s Kamogawa. The section of the Kamogawa near Shijohashi does not rival the natural beauty of the Asahigawa section adjacent to Okayama Castle, but its warm lantern lighting has attracted diners and evening strollers for generations:
DESCRIPTION
Materials and design
As would be true for a new Tsukimi-bashi, for the Lantern Walk project to have any potential for attracting tourists, it would be critically important for the lanterns and fences to be made of natural materials (stone or wood) according to traditional design. The lanterns can be illuminated with electricity, but only using warm, screened, incandescent light:
Location
The Asahigawa Lantern Walk could include sections on both sides of the river. The higher priority of the two is the West side, stretching south from near Tsurumi-bashi around Okayama Castle and passing along the Inner Moat back to Tsukimi-bashi, a total distance of roughly 1.2 km (marked below by the yellow line) (click either photo to see a larger image):
If a parallel string of lanterns were installed on the east side of the river, its maximum length would be about 900 meters (marked below by the white line to the right of the river):
Assuming a 10-meter interval between lanterns, it would take roughly 210 lanterns to line the river on both sides, or 120 lanterns to line the west side alone.
Path surface
The second task of the Lantern Walk project would be to return the riverside path to a natural surface. At present, there is already a natural-surface path along the east side of the river and in the immediate perimeter of Okayama Castle.
Next photo: Path along the east side of the river, adjacent to Korakuen
Next photo: Along the west side, a paved path gives way to a dirt path at the main entrance to Okayama Castle.
Next photo: The southern end of this dirt path is here, approximately 100 meters north of Aioi-bashi.
The rest of the path is a hodgepodge of different surfaces:
Fencing
An additional way to enhance the Lantern Walk would be to install attractive stone or more likely wooden fencing. For the sake of aesthetic unity, a single style of fence should be used along the length of the path. At present, a whole variety of barriers line the path: tall fences, short fences, brown fences, white fences, highway guardrails, ropes, and bushes:
Let us replace this miscellany with a handsome and uniform path, perhaps something like this path that encircles the castle in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture:
The style and fittings of the railings of the Brocade Sash Bridge in Iwakuni would be an ideal model:
No doubt this kind or railing is very expensive, but as the people of Iwakuni understood, creating a successful tourist attraction requires the highest quality materials and craftsmanship.
Financing
Like a new Tsukimi-bashi, an Asahigawa Lantern Walk would almost certainly require donations from private businesses and individuals. If our public leaders ask us to support this project, let's each answer the call and sponsor a lantern for Okayama!
Next 3 photos: Note how on these lanterns, the names of their donors are engraved on the post or painted on the shade
JUSTIFICATION
The Asahi River is Okayama City’s greatest natural asset. The elegant S-shaped curve of the River between Tsurumi-bashi and Aioi-bashi is the axis of the city’s architectural and natural beauty, a natural gathering point for residents and tourists alike.
Public pathways run along either side of the river, but these paths have far from fulfilled their potential. Whereas along the east side (Korakuen side) there is an attractive natural path, along the west side there is a patchwork of different surfaces and railings. The west-side path has the character of a functional municipal park, one that allows people to view the river but does not possess beauty itself (save the section immediately beneath Okayama Castle). In its present state, this path cannot be counted as a tourist attraction.
By installing a necklace of traditional-style lanterns of stone or wood and converting the path to a natural surface, it would be possible to transform the Asahi riverside it into significant draw for tourists and a popular place for dining. Together with Korakuen, Okayama Castle, a new Tsukimi-bashi (see previous section), and other attractions, an Asahigawa Lantern Walk would form a tourist circuit substantial enough to convince many visitors to spend a night in Okayama rather than heading off directly to Kurashiki or Shikoku, as most do now.
Consider the experience of the city of San Antonio, Texas, USA. In the past, the San Antonio riverside was considered a dangerous area and there were even plans to pave over the river. But the people of San Antonio saved the River and transformed it with a landscaped path lined with restaurants, shops and bars. Today the San Antonio River Walk is a famous example of tourism development and urban revitalization.
Another example of successful riverside development - this one closer to home - is that of Kyoto’s Kamogawa. The section of the Kamogawa near Shijohashi does not rival the natural beauty of the Asahigawa section adjacent to Okayama Castle, but its warm lantern lighting has attracted diners and evening strollers for generations:
DESCRIPTION
Materials and design
As would be true for a new Tsukimi-bashi, for the Lantern Walk project to have any potential for attracting tourists, it would be critically important for the lanterns and fences to be made of natural materials (stone or wood) according to traditional design. The lanterns can be illuminated with electricity, but only using warm, screened, incandescent light:
Location
The Asahigawa Lantern Walk could include sections on both sides of the river. The higher priority of the two is the West side, stretching south from near Tsurumi-bashi around Okayama Castle and passing along the Inner Moat back to Tsukimi-bashi, a total distance of roughly 1.2 km (marked below by the yellow line) (click either photo to see a larger image):
If a parallel string of lanterns were installed on the east side of the river, its maximum length would be about 900 meters (marked below by the white line to the right of the river):
Assuming a 10-meter interval between lanterns, it would take roughly 210 lanterns to line the river on both sides, or 120 lanterns to line the west side alone.
Path surface
The second task of the Lantern Walk project would be to return the riverside path to a natural surface. At present, there is already a natural-surface path along the east side of the river and in the immediate perimeter of Okayama Castle.
Next photo: Path along the east side of the river, adjacent to Korakuen
Next photo: Along the west side, a paved path gives way to a dirt path at the main entrance to Okayama Castle.
Next photo: The southern end of this dirt path is here, approximately 100 meters north of Aioi-bashi.
The rest of the path is a hodgepodge of different surfaces:
Fencing
An additional way to enhance the Lantern Walk would be to install attractive stone or more likely wooden fencing. For the sake of aesthetic unity, a single style of fence should be used along the length of the path. At present, a whole variety of barriers line the path: tall fences, short fences, brown fences, white fences, highway guardrails, ropes, and bushes:
Let us replace this miscellany with a handsome and uniform path, perhaps something like this path that encircles the castle in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture:
The style and fittings of the railings of the Brocade Sash Bridge in Iwakuni would be an ideal model:
No doubt this kind or railing is very expensive, but as the people of Iwakuni understood, creating a successful tourist attraction requires the highest quality materials and craftsmanship.
Financing
Like a new Tsukimi-bashi, an Asahigawa Lantern Walk would almost certainly require donations from private businesses and individuals. If our public leaders ask us to support this project, let's each answer the call and sponsor a lantern for Okayama!
Next 3 photos: Note how on these lanterns, the names of their donors are engraved on the post or painted on the shade
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