No.91 Tamagawa Cycling Course "Picnic Bridge" Completion Ceremony

A new pedestrian and bicycle bridge has been completed in the upstream section of the Nakariyō Kamigawara Weir on the Kawasaki City side of the Tama River Cycling Course. At the completion ceremony on May 25, 2019, I and the chairman of the city council were invited and had the opportunity to give our greetings.
With the completion of this bridge, approximately 20 kilometers from the Kawasaki City Saiwai Ward to the Tama Ward has been connected.
On the other hand, in Inagi City, the construction work for the Tama River Cycling Road improvement project in fiscal year 2017 has been completed to connect the section that had been interrupted at the boundary between Kawasaki and Inagi City.
As a result of the construction work in both cities, a cycling course of approximately 24 kilometers has been connected from the estuary to Omaru's Kizemasa Bridge.
In Inagi City, we have been promoting "Bicycle Town Inagi" through various initiatives in recent years, including attracting the course for the Tokyo Olympic cycling road race, introducing shared bicycles, developing bicycle lanes, inviting the bicycle race "Inagi Cross," and joining the National Association of Mayors promoting community development through the use of bicycles.
It is said that Kawasaki City is also working on a demonstration experiment for a shared bicycle system, and we hope that in the future, citizens of both cities will be connected by bicycles.
The bridge that has been completed this time is not a large bridge, but considering that it connects the cycling course from the estuary to the Omaru area, and that it will serve as a significant opportunity for further citizen exchange between Inagi City and Kawasaki City, it becomes a major bridge.
I would like to express my respect and gratitude to Mayor Fukuda of Kawasaki City, the members of the local town association, and the staff of the Kawasaki City Construction and Greenery Bureau for their efforts in the bridge construction.

By the way, this new bridge is named "Picnic Bridge," and I was wondering if there is any origin behind that. Also, at the completion ceremony, the Meiji University Mandolin Club performed, and I am curious about how this relates to the completion of the bridge.
In fact, the name of this bridge is said to be derived from the song "Over the Hill" that was performed on that day. When the composer Masao Koga was a member of the Meiji University Mandolin Club, he was inspired by a cherry blossom viewing held near Inadazutsumi, close to this bridge, and composed the mandolin ensemble piece "Picnic," which later had lyrics added to it and became a big hit as "Over the Hill."
Based on such historical facts, it seems that this name was adopted at the request of the local town association that requested the construction of the bridge. Hearing the origin of this stylish name made me feel that it was a good story that I could relate to.
On a nice day, it's fun to ride a bicycle and try cycling along the Tamagawa Cycling Course towards Kawasaki.