Walking on Tama River. The riverbed is flat, and no chance to get lost. Can easily walk long distance!

Walking at the riverbed is enjoyable!

I sometimes go up the mountain, but due to only a little stamina, I soon get out of breath on the ups and downs of the mountain road. However, I can not quit mountain climbing halfway through. I have to follow my party to the end. Moreover, there are various concerns such as bad weather and bath room issue that put pressure for preparation and for equipment.

There is no such hurdle for riverbed walking.

• The riverbed has no ups and downs, basically all flat.
• No chance to get lost as we walk along the river
• No problem to quit in the middle and return home by bus or train
• Anytime able to evacuate to the nearest convenience store or a shop in case of raining or being called by nature
• Flexible to determine the goal or how far to walk

What’s more, the most enjoyable thing for riverbed walking is talking relaxingly with people whom you walk with.

On one national holiday in October 2020, four old friends walked together at the riverbed on Tama river. The entire journey was about 16 km. Walking about 10.5 km, we had lunch and there, two of four returned home. The other two further walked 5.7 km.

There are things that we can talk only because we walked 16 km!

The course of riverbed walk at Tama river

So, let’s start walking!

What you need to take is, a smartphone (map app), a hat (less shade at the riverbed), something to drink and lunch. The rest you can choose depending on the season and the weather. Easy-to-walk shoes are essential. And it is recommended to wear clothes that are easily put on and take off according to heat and cold.

The meeting point was Keio Tamagawa station

It was first time for me to come to this station. It is rather small station with only one exit. Four of us coming from Kanagawa, Tokyo and Chiba could meet smoothly.

Headed toward the river using the map app and we arrived at the riverbed in about 5 minutes from the station. A wide straight road. Feeling so good!

It was cloudy, but the best weather for riverbed walking is cloudy as there is a little shade.

On the way, we could see bit of the blue sky.

First break around Izumi Tamagawa District Center

We took a first break after about one hour walk, which was 4.5km distance. Just after that, we found a public toilet in the Izumi Tamagawa District Center along the river. It was very clean and comfortable to use.

We went further, and the scenery of Futako Tamagawa appeared in front of us. On the far left, there was Tamagawa Takashimaya. This is the city where I go shopping sometimes, but I had never seen it from such a wide angle like this. So dynamic!

Lunch near Futako Tamagawa park

Enjoyable lunch varies, some brought hand-made bento, some bought at a convenience store. As the Tama river runs through the city, if somebody forgets lunch, we can always make a detour to a nearby shop.

After lunch break, two of the four returned home from Futako Tamagawa station by train. The two left needed to decide how far to walk. Unlike mountain climbing, it’s easy to set the goal on the spot!

The goal was finally set, Unoki station of Tokyu Tamagawa line

“Let’s walk to Kamata”, “no, it’s too far”; so we finally decided to walk to Tokyu Unoki station which was located about 5.7 km in distance. On the way, we could see the cityscape of Kawasaki at the other side of the Tama river.

Arrived at Unoki Station!

Toast at a Chinese restaurant in Kamata. Happy ending of a fun day!

From here, introducing the ending of a fun day. We took train from Unoki station and reached to Kamata station. There we had early dinner at a casual Chinese restaurant called “Niihao” where we found by chance. It was still half past 5 pm, however there were already plenty of people. The foods were delicious with reasonable price!