04-Nov-2015 -- As I noted last July - after my visit to 49N 2E near Paris - many large cities that are frequently visited by travelers have what I like to call a “Visitors’ Confluence Point”. This is a point that’s in, or close to the city, and is easily accessible by public transport or by rental car. Visitors to the city often take time to visit this point; these "Visitors’ Confluence Points" tend to be the most visited points of all.
This is the “Visitors’ Confluence Point” for Tokyo; it lies on the north-eastern edge of this huge metropolis, in a rice field, with suburban homes nearby. It is quite easily reached by Tokyo’s excellent public transport system; by taking a series of trains from Yokohama (where I had a day off during a week-long conference), I was able to get to Kokinu rail station in about 2 hours. From there, it was about 2.5 km - as the crow flies - to the point.
After arriving at Kokinu rail station (which is much sleepier than the numerous busy rail stations closer to Tokyo), I walked across a bridge (over a small river) - about 1.7 km from the point - and then walked northwards along the levee on the eastern edge of the river. On the other side of the levee were several tidy homes, many with persimmon trees bearing fruit. About 500 m from the point, I left the levee and walked along a series of narrow paved roads (laid out in a grid pattern) to reach the point, which lies just inside a dirt patch (where rice was no longer growing). The dirt was too soft and muddy for me to step onto to get ‘all zeros’, but by walking carefully along the narrow concrete barriers that separate the fields, I was able to get about 7 m (± GPS error of 3 m) due north of the point.
I returned to Kokinu station via a slightly different route, by taking a different bridge (one farther north) across the river, and then walking through a suburban area. I was struck by how tidy and well-managed the homes were. These are all small houses, with small gardens that are very carefully maintained. There was no trash to be seen anywhere.