冬の北海道さっぽろでは「歩く」のに路面の圧雪〜氷結が転倒事故などの危険があるので、慎重な歩行が必要。早朝散歩を健康維持作戦としてきているのでこの問題とは正面から向き合わざるを得ない。これまではひとりで散歩してきていたので、最終手段として「スパイク付きの運動靴」を利用してどんな路面状況にも対応していたのですが、カラダからの注意信号があってカミさんが「万一に備えて」ということでいっしょに散歩するようになった。
　ここ数ヶ月のことなのですが、そうすると女性として「スパイク付きの運動靴」という選択肢にどうも抵抗感があるのか、あまり熱心に探してはくれない。一方で「歩きにくい」という路面・コース選択への注文は増えて行かざるを得ない。生来の「風来坊」根性から男女共生思想に目覚めざるを得なくなってきた（笑）。当然配慮して行かざるを得ない。
　そういう路面選択が昂じてくると冬場でも凍結しない「地下道」空間が有力な存在に上がってくる。雪国の大都市としてさっぽろには、JR札幌駅〜地下鉄さっぽろ駅から地下鉄すすきの駅、さらにテレビ塔前方向へと総延長距離２−３ｋｍほどの地下空間がある。わたしどもは札幌市西区山の手居住なのでクルマを使って途中の雪道路面をパスすることが出来れば、これを有力な散歩道として活用出来る。
　ということで一定距離クルマ移動プラスですがチャレンジし始めています。わが家からクルマで、最寄りのJR琴似駅に「空中道路」で接続している駐車場まで移動し、そこからJR札幌駅まで電車で２駅移動。で、連続する地下道に入って南はすすきの駅まで、東はテレビ塔までの地下空間を速歩するコース選択。だいたい散歩運動時間は小１時間。歩数にして6,000歩強というコースであります。高齢者の１日歩数合格ライン。
　途中には電車移動もあるので首都圏や関西圏並みの市街雰囲気も味わえる。「札幌もずいぶん大都会だなぁ」と再発見・体験もできるし、ふだん見ることのない街並み景観の楽しみもある。難点は往復の交通費・駐車料金ですが、そこら辺はいろいろ工夫のし甲斐がありそう。
　ということで、いろいろ作戦会議に余念がない昨今であります。平和な国ニッポン。

English version⬇

[Improving winter health by taking a walk in the snowy Sapporo ‘underground shopping arcade’].
From difficulty walking on snow-covered roads in winter to the use of walking courses in the underground shopping arcade. It is also a good way to exercise your brain. …

　In winter in Sapporo, Hokkaido, walking requires careful walking because of the risk of accidents such as falls due to compacted or icy road surfaces. I have been taking early morning walks as a health maintenance strategy, so I have to face this problem head on. Until now, I had been walking alone, and as a last resort I used ‘athletic shoes with spikes’ to cope with any road conditions, but my body gave me a warning signal and Kami started walking with me, ‘just in case’.
　This is something that has been happening for the past few months, but as a woman, she seems to have some resistance to the option of ‘athletic shoes with spikes’, and does not look for them very enthusiastically. On the other hand, the order for the choice of surface and course, which is ‘difficult to walk on’, has to go up. We have had to wake up from our innate ‘windbag’ nature to the idea of gender symbiosis (laughs). Naturally, we have to take this into consideration.
　As such road surface selection grows, ‘underpass’ spaces that do not freeze even in winter are becoming more and more important. In Sapporo, a large city in a snowy country, there is an underground passageway extending from JR Sapporo Station and Sapporo Subway Station to Susukino Subway Station and then to the TV Tower, a total distance of about 2-3 km. We live in Yamanote, Nishi-ku, Sapporo, so if we can pass the snow-covered road surface on the way by car, we can use this as a major walking route.
　So we have started to challenge this, although we have to travel a certain distance by car. From our house, we drive to a parking lot connected to the nearest JR Kotoni station by an ‘aerial road’, and from there we travel two stops by train to JR Sapporo station. Then, we chose a fast walk through the underground space to Susukino Station in the south and to the TV Tower in the east, entering a series of underground tunnels. The walking exercise time is approximately one hour. The number of steps is just over 6,000. This is the minimum number of steps for an elderly person to walk in a day.
　The course also includes a train journey, so you can enjoy an urban atmosphere comparable to that of the Tokyo metropolitan area or the Kansai region. The course also offers the chance to rediscover and experience Sapporo as a big city, and to enjoy the cityscape scenery that you don’t normally see. The drawback is the cost of round-trip transportation and parking, but this is something that can be worked out in various ways.
　So, we have been busy with various strategy meetings in recent days. Peaceful country Nippon.
　

Posted on 1月 15th, 2025 by 三木 奎吾
Filed under: 「都市の快適」研究