写真・文：岩崎量示
The English translation follows after the Japanese text.
凍った湖上への立ち入りが今日から解禁になった糠平湖を渡り、さっそく今年最初のタウシュベツ川橋梁まで歩いてきました。
昨年の撮り納めが12月30日だったので、じつに3日ぶりのタウシュベツ。初詣は神社よりも先にタウシュベツ。われながらよく通っています。
いつ崩れても不思議ではない状況に変わりはないままですが、橋がまだ立っているうちに通うことができているのはやはりめでたいことです。
現地の朝の気温は－15℃。湖へと抜ける森の中を歩き、途中で気配を感じて見回すと、向こうのエゾシカと目がありました。音の吸い込まれる静寂の森では、どこかから見られている視線にいつも以上に敏感になります。
この写真にエゾシカが一頭いるのですが…分かりますか？
湖上には早くもワカサギ釣りのテントが並んでいました。毎冬現れるテント村は、さながら異世界のような光景です。
橋に向かって歩くと、草木には霧氷がつき、ところどころにフロストフラワー。大晦日に積もった雪さえまだ軽く、足を踏み出すたびにさらさらと飛んでいきました。「寒い」というそれだけのことでも、ある境界を超えると、ふだんとは違う現象に出会えます。
さらに氷の断面にアイスバブルも見られました。アイスバブルというと、一般的には上からのぞき込むようにして見るものですが、ここ糠平湖では割れた氷の側面からも観察できるのです。
タウシュベツ川橋梁までは、駐車スペースからおよそ2キロ。日の出頃に歩きはじめると、ちょうど橋に着くタイミングで山の向こうから日が射し込みます。目の前でダイヤモンドダストが揺らめくを見ていると、しばらく寒さを忘れるほどでした。
今シーズン、例年になく水位が低い傾向がつづく糠平湖では、湖上横断期間が1月下旬ころまでで終了となりそうです。あと何度、冬のタウシュベツまで行けるかなと、早くも指おりカウントダウンをしています。
Today, access to the frozen Nakahira Lake was officially opened, so I crossed it and walked all the way to this year's first Taushubetsu Bridge. Even though I was taking photos from afar and my last visit was on December 30th, it’s only been three days since I last came to Taushubetsu. Honestly, I visit quite often.
The situation hasn’t changed; the bridge still looks like it could collapse at any moment. So, it’s really a good thing that the bridge is still standing and I can visit it while it’s here.
The morning temperature was -15°C. I walked through the forest leading to the lake, and halfway there, I felt something and looked around, making eye contact with an Ezo deer in the distance. In the quiet forest where sounds are absorbed, I became even more sensitive to the feeling of being watched from somewhere.
Already, Japanese pond smelt ice fishing tents lined the lake. Every winter, at the start of the season, the tent village appears. It looked like another world.
As I walked towards the bridge, the trees were covered in rime ice, and there were frost flowers here and there. The snow that had piled up on New Year's Eve was still light, fluttering with each step I took. Even though it's just "cold," crossing a certain point means encountering different kinds of phenomena.
I also saw ice bubbles in the ice. Normally, ice bubbles are seen by looking down from above, but here at Nakahira Lake, you can see them from the side of the cracked ice.
The Taushubetsu Bridge is about 2 kilometers from the parking area. I started walking around sunrise, and by the time I reached the bridge, the sun was shining in from behind the mountains. Watching the diamond dust shimmer right in front of me made me forget about the cold for a while.
This season, with Nakahira Lake continuing its trend of unusually low water levels, the period when you can cross the lake on ice seems like it will end around late January. I'm already counting down the days, wondering how many more times I can visit winter Taushubetsu.
Photos & Text by Ryoji Iwasaki