Most major stretches of greenery in Tokyo are tax-trimmed remainders of massive estates once owned by Edo Period (1603-1867) feudal lords, or daimyo. So, in the wake of this summer's torrential rain and dodging some early autumn typhoons, I set out to find a daimyo domain or two.
From Omokagebashi on the Toden Arakawa Line, I cross the Kanda-gawa (Kanda River) to discover a path running east along the waterway. In less than 10 minutes, and walking a pretty straight line, I cross ward boundaries eight times — first I'm in Shinjuku-ku, then Bunkyo-ku, then back in Shinjuku-ku, and so forth, which suggests either the work of a palsied cartographer or a battle to claim the waterway.
The Kanda-gawa was one of the first major josui (waterworks) projects in old Edo (present-day Tokyo). Tokugawa shoguns dug a canal to combine existing small rivers and spring water from the Inokashira Pond out near Kichijoji, channeling it right through the burgeoning city as a convenient drinking-water supply and transport route. Gracefully undulating hills on the northern banks of this man-made river were prime daimyo digs, and I'm headed that way.