箱島湧水 - Hakoshima Yusui Spring

吾妻線の小野上駅に降りたが、観光案内が何ひとつない。名水百選だというのに。仕方なく東吾妻町役場に電話したら、丁寧に箱島湧水への行き方を教えてくれた。
駅を出て右に行くとすぐに橋が見えてくるので、左折して橋を渡りそのまま県道に出るまで進む。僕の足で12分。そこからは左の渋川方面に向かってさらに6分、郵便局を過ぎてようやく湧水900mの道路標示が目に入る。
山側の道に入るとすぐに大きなお地蔵様と箱島不動尊入口と書かれた石標があり、右の車道を行っても良いが、ハイカーとしてはもちろん木陰の歩道を進む。歩道と言っても以前は車が通っていた路幅の砂利道だ。5分ほど登ると道は平坦になり、またその先は少しずつ勾配を増して5-6分。駅から湧水までは約30分の行程だった。
滝のように流れ落ちる水の量は相当なもの、地元の人たちがペットボトルではなくポリタンクに水を汲んで、それをいくつも一輪台車に乗せて降りてゆく。水汲みに忙しいおじさんに話を聞くと、飯を炊いても味が確実に違うそうだ。流れはとても冷たくて10°くらいの水温だと思う。
吾妻線の列車は1時間に1本なので、2時間の寄り道なら余裕充分で可能だろう。但し昼間は電車のない時間帯もあるので注意。


I got off at Onogami Station on Agatsuma Line, but there was no information for tavelers. I could only ring up the town office for the directions, and they were very kind explaining the way to Hakoshima Yusui.
Taking right in front of the station, you almost already see a bridge on the left. You go across the bridge and the road will bring you up to another main road with busy traffic. It was about 12 minutes of walk in my case. Then go to the left (in the direction for Shibukawa, Ikaho), and in about 6 minutes you will see a post office on your left and then a Japanese sign plate of “Yusui 900m” on the road. That’s where you make right to the mountain road. The stone statue of Jizo will greet you at the entrance of the road to Hakoshima Fudoson Temple. You may take the asphalt-surfaced road for vehicles but the hikers would take the unpaved road shaded by the trees. After 5 minutes of uphill, the road gets flat and then gradualy recovers its tilt in 5 or 6 more minutes. It was about 30 minutes from the Station to the Spring.
What you see first is a waterfall, and obviously the water is immense. The local people fill a few of portable tanks with water to bring back on the single-wheel dolly, and they told me that it tasted great when they streamed the rice with this water. The stream was very cold, probably as low as 10 degrees C.
This spring is one of hundred selected waters in Japan. There is generally only one train per hour on Agatsuma Line, therefore a 2-hour detour visit to Hakoshima would be easy to be planned, but you should consult with the timetable carefully because in the daytime there are less trains.