When it comes to Osaka, the city of water,
during the era of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, many boats crossed the Yodo River and the economy and culture developed.
Boat transportation on the Yodo River is almost unheard of today.
A large-scale project to revive it has begun.
The cost is over 10 billion yen!
10 billion yen for boats in Reiwa, where there are roads and railroads?
Why?
I looked it up.
(NHK Osaka Broadcasting Station Reporter Gennori Munakata)
Can you read lock?
The Yodo River is a confluence of three first-class rivers that flow into Osaka Bay.
Something is being built there.
That is... "The Lock Gate"
It's an unfamiliar kanji, but it's read as "komon".
A facility that regulates the water level of a canal or river to allow ships to pass through.
It was set up at the Yodogawa Weir, about 10 kilometers from the mouth of the river, and the total project cost exceeded 10 billion yen.
What happens when it is completed?
Looking at the VR video created by the Kinki Regional Development Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism...
This is the Yodogawa Ozeki lock.
The point is the part sandwiched between the gates.
When a ship enters this part, the gate is closed and the water level is adjusted.
By raising and lowering the water level like an elevator, ships can come and go even if the water level of the river is different.
When completed, four tourist boats can enter the lock at once and move.
Aiming for completion by the spring of 2025, it is expected to be the largest lock gate in Japan.
Boat transportation that once connected with Kyoto
But why stick to boats?
The Yodo River used to be a major artery for boats connecting Fushimi in Kyoto and Osaka.
However, as time progressed, ships lost their role to cars and railways, and in 1962, freight transportation between Fushimi and Osaka ended.
On the other hand, the basin population continues to grow and now exceeds 10 million people, and the Yodo River is also a source of water for domestic and industrial use.
In 1983, the 700-meter-long Yodogawa Weir was constructed.
While the completion of the Yodogawa Weir enabled stable intake of water, the gigantic weir blocked traffic on the water, making it impossible for ships to come and go.
This time, by building a lock, the government wants to make it possible for ships to come and go from Osaka to Fushimi again.
not for romance
The revival of old shipping.
Hmm, I feel a historical romance and a dream.
But wait!
More than 10 billion yen for romance?
It's too big, isn't it?
This business has a big purpose.
The concept dates back to the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake.
A 7.3 direct earthquake hit the big city.
Traffic between Hanshin, which connects Osaka and Kobe, was cut off.
It took two to six months to restore the main railway.
It took more than a year and a half to restore the entire Hanshin Expressway where the road collapsed.
The earthquake struck the fragility of urban transportation.
The transport whose importance was reaffirmed at this time was the ship.
Some of the relief supplies were carried by ship.
Easy without traffic jam
Boat transportation was also active on the Yodo River at this time.
In the earthquake, the embankment near the mouth of the Yodo River collapsed.
After the earthquake in January, we have to finish the restoration work by the time of the rainy season when there is a risk of overflow and flooding.
The area that collapsed was a place where ships could come and go on the sea side of the Yodogawa Weir.
Therefore, the materials for the repair work were transported to the site by ship.
There were no traffic jams, and the construction proceeded smoothly, and the embankment was temporarily restored in just half a year.
Triggered by this, there were calls for the revival of the Yodo River boat transport in the basin.
It was also thought that it would be useful for transporting people who provide support in times of disaster and those who are unable to return home.
What triggered the revival of boat transportation?
However, construction work to build a lock at the Yodogawa Weir, which is necessary for the passage of ships, requires a huge amount of money.
Even after more than 20 years since the earthquake, "Yodogawa boat transport" has not been realized.
A person in charge of a municipality along the river also recalled, "I didn't think it would come true."
The decision to hold the Osaka-Kansai Expo in 2025 brought about a sudden change in the situation.
With the world's attention focused on the Kansai region at the World Expo, the revival of the Yodo River boat transport was thought to be a perfect opportunity to widely publicize the appeal of Osaka, the city of water.
With the addition of expectations for tourism as well as disaster prevention so far, the project has started to move at once.
During the Expo, a plan to transport visitors from the Yodo River to Yumeshima, Osaka, was raised, and full-scale construction began.
A troublesome thing that blocks the course of a ship
However, when it comes to connecting Kyoto and Osaka with a sightseeing boat, there is a wall that worries the people involved.
During the Edo period when the Yodogawa river transportation prospered, Hirakata City in Osaka prospered as a port between Osaka and Fushimi.
Do you know anything about this photo taken from the bridge?
It is a "sandbar" where the earth and sand that have flowed down from upstream have accumulated.
You can see many things that appear on the surface of the water.
In some areas, the depth of the river is less than 70 centimeters.
The problem is the shallowness of the river.
This sediment must be removed in order for the sightseeing boat to sail further upstream from Hirakata to Kyoto.
Ensuring that the water is deep enough for ships to come and go requires regular removal of the constant inflow of sediment, as well as large-scale river improvement that speeds up the river flow and prevents sediment from accumulating.
It costs more.
(Kinki Regional Development Bureau Yodogawa
River Office Regional Disaster Prevention Coordinator Takahiro Hayashi)
In the future, I would like to revive the Yodogawa river transportation linking Kyoto Fushimi and Osaka Bay.”
In order not to pass by
Hirakata City is also known as the town of "Kurawanka".
The etymology comes from the fact that they sold rice cakes and sake to passengers on the boat while shouting rough words "Kurawanka" (= "eat") so that the boat would not pass by.
Even in the Reiwa era, expectations for the revival of boat transport on the Yodo River are increasing.
(Chief of the Hirakata City Tourism and Exchange Division
Ichishin Shinbu )
want to go"
The Future of the Water Capital Connected by the Earthquake and Expo
Boat transport is trying to revive with the thoughts of various people.
When I looked into it, I found that it was expected not only for tourism but also for disaster prevention.
However, there was a problem as to whether it would go according to plan.
It has been 28 years since the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake.
I was born and raised in Osaka, and I have no memory of the earthquake.
At that time, the memories of many citizens struggling to commute to work and school are also fading.
Earthquake and Expo.
I would like to continue to pay close attention to whether boat transportation, which connects two major events in Kansai, the past and the future, will not only be a catalyst for Kansai tourism, but also a presence that protects lives and livelihoods from disasters.