2023.08.26 Hikaru Kimurar＋Noriko Higashi
Hida Furukawa is located in the northern part of Gifu Prefecture and is a basin surrounded by mountains. A city walk was held to explore the streets with white walls that have remained since ancient times, temples and the clear Setogawa River where about 1,000 carp swim. Participants were given flashlights and conducted a lighting experiment to consider the night view of Hida Furukawa.
In response to a request from Hida City to “create a nightscape that the citizens of Hida can be proud of,” we held a town walk and lighting experiment with the people of Hida Furukawa. The town of Furukawa has old temples, sake breweries, and clear streams, all within walking distance. The streets have retained their Japanese architectural structure, preserving their classic beauty. 18 participants and we walked through the town, gazing at the Furukawa at night.
（Hikaru Kimura)
The Lecture by Lighting Detectives
Before embarking on a city walk, Mr. Mende gave a lecture on the importance of nighttime landscaping and lighting in urban development. Members Higashi and Kimura also explained the Lighting Detectives’ method of walking around the city at night and taught how to use an illuminance meter and flashlight. Afterwards, the mayor of Hida City shared his thoughts on night views through a conversation with Mr. Mende. The mayor’s wish was summed up in one phrase: “I want to create a nightscape that the people of Hida Furukawa will be proud of. (Noriko Higashi)
Hida Furukawa has three representative temples known as “San-Tera-Mairi”. We gave a lecture at one of them, Enko-ji Temple, and then walked the streets to visit the other two temples. Each street in the city had street lights of different design, which made the streets unique at night. Many people said that Japanese-style street lights, rather than general security lights, were good because they suited the atmosphere of the city. There were also in-depth opinions that some types of street lights had many spider webs on them, and when compared, many of them might have a high color temperature or be open in shape, with the lamps visible. The Setogawa River, which runs through the city, is an elegant street with a series of white warehouse walls of sake breweries. The participants also experimented with enjoying the effects of light by shining their own powerful flashlights on the river and reflecting the reflections on the white walls. This experiment was especially popular with the participants, as they were able to see beautiful carp swimming in the river, attracted by the light.
■I was surprised to find that there are few lights in Furukawa that destroy the atmosphere of the town. By walking the streets with the locals, I was able to feel that the beautiful townscape is maintained by the awareness of each and every resident of Furukawa to protect the town. If citizens pay more attention to the streetscape at night and share their opinions with each other, the streetscape at night will naturally become a place to be more proud of. (Hikaru Kimura)
