#184 ちょっと群馬で寄り道 「めがね橋」&「富岡製糸場」 / Sightseeing in Gunma: Meganebashi and Tomioka Silk Mill
On the way home from my trip to Niigata I wanted to go somewhere so I made a little detour to Gunma Where did you go? The first place I headed to was Usui Pass. As we rounded the curve, our destination came into view. The Usui Third Bridge is popularly called “Meganebashi,” or Spectacles Bridge. Did we pass it? There’s a parking lot a little further ahead, so we’re heading there. The parking lot had restrooms and was plenty spacious. It took about 5 minutes on foot from the parking lot to reach Meganebashi. The Meganebashi One of Japan’s largest brick arch bridges After its completion in 1892 it remained in use until the new line was switched over in 1963 A four-arch bridge using over 2 million bricks With a height of 31 meters and a length of 91 meters, it is an impressive size. It’s huge! The Meganebashi is open all day and you can climb it The stairs for climbing up are well-maintained and safe Worried about bears! Since there are quite a few sightseers around I think it should be fine, but since there was a sign like this, I think it’s better to be careful. A fairly steep uphill climb continues. Somehow made it up onto the “Meganebashi”. Phew. The top of the “Meganebashi” is a promenade with benches placed along it Seeing the “Meganebashi” up close Its solid, imposing form gives a sense of the high level of Japanese civil engineering at the time. This walking trail was developed using the abandoned railway line from the railway era and named “Apt’s Path”. The “Apt Trail” includes the “Meganebashi” and allows you to walk the approximately 6km between Yokokawa Station and Kumanodaira Station. Looking down from Meganebashi makes your legs go weak Whoa, so high! Continuing past Meganebashi toward Yokogawa Station Tunnel No. 5 comes into view Let’s enter the tunnel Tunnel No. 5 with a total length of about 244 meters longer than the other tunnels Due to the tunnel’s sharp curve, the exit is not immediately visible, creating a unique atmosphere. I absolutely can’t come at night. It just feels scary somehow. But my partner seems fine with it. Even though he’s a grown man, he’s such a coward. He didn’t go all the way in and turned back. He’s a scaredy-cat, so it can’t be helped. Walking back across the Meganebashi I saw the Joetsu Shinkansen tracks in the mountains The tracks were mostly tunnels! The “Apt Line” After Tunnel No. 5 comes Tunnel No. 6, and beyond that, through Tunnel No. 10, it continues all the way to Kumano-daira Station. Descend the stairs to reach the parking lot. The “Meganebashi” visible through the trees had a nice atmosphere Nice!! Then we made another detour to one more place It’s an incredibly narrow road, but where does it go? We’re heading to Located in the city center of Tomioka, Gunma Prefecture is the Tomioka Paper Mill Since it was my first time visiting, I didn’t know about the parking situation, near the Tomioka Silk Mill there was no public parking lot From the public parking lot, it seems you have to walk about 10 to 20 minutes. What are you going to do? While wondering what to do, I kept moving forward I happened to find a privately-owned parking lot behind the paper mill, so I parked there. There were quite a few private lots nearby. After walking about five minutes from the parking lot we arrived at the main gate. We paid the admission fee and entered. Since there was a guided tour inside the venue I decided to join it As I headed to the meeting spot, unfortunately, it started raining. Can’t be helped with a rain man around Within the Tomioka Silk Mill over 100 buildings still exist. The guided tour takes about 40 minutes to cover the main areas of the site. Led by an experienced guide we head to the first location We see various things First is the East Cocooning Room It’s a warehouse for storing dried cocoons. It’s a timber-framed brick structure approximately 104m long and 15m high. It is designated as a National Treasure and is an important building that can be considered the face of the silk mill. This is the Inspection Office. It was the lodging for the Frenchman in charge of quality inspection After the French returned home, it was apparently used as a VIP lounge. Next, we were guided to another National Treasure: the Silk Reeling Room. Before touring the interior of the reeling workshop, You have to be careful with national treasures! The silk reeling workshop is the building where silk thread was extracted from cocoons. Inside, it housed the world’s largest reeling machines at the time What a long machine! The interior of the building features a truss structure ensuring a spacious, column-free interior. It’s incredibly spacious inside too! At the time of its founding, from France the latest-model spinning frames were imported, operated by numerous female workers. Later, in 1965, automatic reeling machines were introduced, contributing to the advancement of Japanese silk-reeling technology until operations ceased in 1987. It is said to have been in operation. At the time, it was the world’s most advanced! The guided tour also included the dormitory for four French female teachers. “Women Workers’ Dormitory” From its founding A “clinic”
established to manage the health of employees The French leader, who was the chief executive, was built as the residence for Paul Brunat, “Chief’s Residence” Where the female workers of the Tomioka Silk Mill lived “Dormitory” We were guided around various parts of the Tomioka Silk Mill. Thank you for explaining it so clearly in the rain. I learned so much! After the guided tour ended We went to see other facilities within the silk mill. Let’s go see the rest! This is the “Bruna Engine Dynamic Display Facility.” The “Bruna Engine” was imported from France at the time of establishment a steam engine used to spin raw silk from cocoons as the power source for the reeling machine. Here it is restored You can see an engine actually running I wanted to see it in motion too This is the “West Silk Cocooning Workshop” It was built as a pair with the East Silk Cocoon Storage House at the time of the company’s founding. Conservation and repair work was completed in 2020, and the interior is now open to the public. Reborn anew The first floor was a gallery displaying historical materials of the Tomioka Silk Mill This gallery is a seismically reinforced “House-in-House” structure A building within a building. The second floor was once recreated as a silk cocoon storage area. It was also discovered during the repair work The building’s structure at that time was explained in the exhibits Numerous exhibits were displayed From the second-floor balcony we could see the complex of buildings, including the silk mill under repair, from a different angle. from a different angle. Inside the silk mill mulberry leaves, which are still used as silkworm feed, Finally, we toured the company housing. The company housing featured an exhibition on silkworm ecology. Live silkworms were being raised. It was my first time seeing silkworms move. The company housing was a layout reminiscent of The layout evoked memories of that era. Like Sazae-san’s house. The Tomioka Silk Mill is a symbol of Meiji Japan’s modernization. The mechanized silk reeling technology established here not only spread throughout Japan but was also transmitted overseas, significantly contributed to the development of the world’s silk culture. World Heritage Site The Tomioka Silk Mill, which also holds National Treasures, strongly recommends participating in a guided tour strongly recommended. The guided tour was really great. On the way back on the highway it started raining At first it wasn’t raining very hard, but it gradually grew heavier until it turned into a downpour so heavy I could barely see ahead. I slowed down and continued driving carefully The rain lately isn’t half-hearted, is it? Thank you for watching the video again this time. Thank you very much. We look forward to your continued support.
動画をご覧いただきありがとうございます
今回の新潟旅行からの帰りに群馬県で前から行って見たかった場所にちょっと寄り道しましたす
最初は碓氷峠にある「めがね橋」こと「碓氷第三橋梁」です
かつて碓氷峠を越える鉄道の橋として活躍しましたが、現在は廃線となり、遊歩道「アプトの道」の一部として利用されています。
その美しい4つのアーチが、眼鏡（めがね）のように見えることから、親しみを込めて「めがね橋」と呼ばれています。
めがね橋のすぐ近くの路肩に車を停めている方もいましたが、トイレも完備した大き目の駐車場が徒歩5分程度の場所に準備されていました
めがね橋 : https://www.city.annaka.lg.jp/page/2018.html （安中市HP)
二カ所目は世界文化遺産に登録された「富岡製糸場」です
富岡製糸場は、1872年に明治政府が日本の近代化を推し進めるために設立した、官営の模範器械製糸工場です。
開国後、主要な輸出品であった生糸は、手作業での生産が主流で品質にばらつきがありました。
そこで、政府は生糸の品質を向上させて輸出を拡大するため、フランスから最新の器械製糸技術と指導者（ポール・ブリュナ）を招き、富岡に巨大な工場を建設しました。
この製糸場の建物は、日本と西洋の技術が融合した貴重な建築物として知られています。
主な建物の骨組みには日本の伝統的な木骨構造が用いられ、壁はフランス式のレンガ積みで造られています。
特に、当時世界最大規模を誇った長さ約140メートルの「繰糸所」は、鉄骨を使わず木造で広い空間を実現した、高い技術力の結晶です。
富岡製糸場は、日本の近代化を牽引した産業遺産として、その歴史的価値が国際的に評価され、2014年に「富岡製糸場と絹産業遺産群」として、ユネスコの世界文化遺産に登録されました。
創業当時のままの姿でほぼ完璧に残されている点が、世界遺産登録の決め手となりました。
明治時代の高い技術と芸術性が融合したこの橋は、国の重要文化財にも指定されており、新緑や紅葉、雪景色など、四季折々の美しい風景を楽しむことができる人気の観光スポットです。
ここでは見学者のためのガイドツアーが準備れています
ベテランガイドさんに各回約40分で場内の主要な場所をとても分かりやすく案内していただけました
費用は一人200円ととてもリーゾナブルで、タイミングが合えばとてもお勧めです
富岡製糸場 : https://www.tomioka-silk.jp/_tomioka-silk-mill/
これからも2025年もいろいろな場所を旅して見たり食べたり体験したことをvlogとしてご紹介します。
ただのオジさんの旅動画ですが、これからも当チャンネル@arotitivlog を今後ともよろしくお願いいたします。
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00:02 はじめに
00:30 めがね橋
05:59 富岡製糸場
12:34 おわりに
#めがね橋
#富岡製糸場
#碓氷第三橋梁