Tokyo trains are running on water from Niigata
My hometown, Nagaoka City.
Next to it is Ojiya City.
Hegi soba, koi carp, and Ojiya chijimi fabric.
These are famous around here.
However, Ojiya has
one more incredibly important thing.
A JR East power plant.
I wrote about JR a little while ago, too.
If you read that piece,
you might have already guessed,
but personally,
I don't have a very good image of JR🤣
Then I should just stop riding JR.
……or so I would like to say, but
I currently use the JR lines every day.
JR: "If you don't like it, you don't have to ride, you know?"
Me: "I can't get to work 🥺"
It is a total defeat.
Tokyo's trains are running on water from Niigata
Around Ojiya City,
there is JR East's Shinano River Power Station.
Electricity is generated using water from the Shinano River,
and that electricity is used for railways in the Tokyo metropolitan area.
In other words, to put it very crudely,
Tokyo's trains are running on water from Niigata.
To everyone in Tokyo.
That crowded train.
It might be from Niigata 🤣
"Next is Shinjuku, Shinjuku."
In order to power that train,
far away in Niigata,
the Shinano River is hard at work.
It has a longer commute than I do.
However, JR, you took too much water.
Just because it's hydroelectric power,
"It's a river! It's water! We'll take it all!"
That's not how it works.
There are proper permits for how much river water can be used.
There are proper permits.
However, in 2008,
an illegal water intake issue was discovered at JR East's Shinano River Power Station.
In addition to taking more water than permitted,
problems were also found in the data submitted to the government.
Even the government, as you might expect,
"Hey JR, what are you doing?"
was not enough to settle the matter.
In 2009,
the water rights were revoked.
Government: "You can't use the water from the Shinano River anymore."
JR: "Huh?"
Shinano River: "Huh?"
Tokyo's trains: "Huh?"
The power plant was shut down.
That's quite bold.
Hydroelectric power isn't necessarily all eco-friendly...
When you hear "hydroelectric power,"
you get an image of something extremely environmentally friendly.
Water flows.
The turbine spins.
Electricity is generated.
No smoke billows out.
It's wonderful.
However, naturally, if you take a large amount of river water,
the water downstream will decrease.
There are fish there, and plants too.
There is also the fishing industry.
There is also the life of the local community.
In other words,
even if hydroelectric power is clean, it doesn't mean you can do whatever you want.
When you think about it, it's obvious, but
when the word "eco" is attached,
for some reason, there's an atmosphere where everything seems permissible.
Eco is powerful 🤣
Of course, it is different now
If things continue like this,
"JR is outrageous!"
Since that's where it ends, I'll write about what happened after that too.
JR East moved forward with recurrence prevention measures,
went through consultations with the local community,
and newly obtained permission for water usage.
Power generation resumed in 2010.
The Shinano River Power Station is still in operation today,
and they are also working on river environment surveys, fishway improvements,
and the release of salmon fry.
They caused problems in the past.
That is precisely why,
I think it is necessary to look at how they improved things afterward.
Let's be fair about that.
Even for me, who doesn't have a very good image of JR 🤣
And today, I am riding JR again.
When you think about it, it's a rather strange story.
The Shinano River flows through Ojiya, next to Nagaoka.
The electricity generated there
powers railways in the distant capital region.
And I, a native of Niigata, currently
take the JR to work every day in the Kanto region.
While complaining about the JR,
I ride a JR train,
and some of the electricity that moves that train
is being generated right next to my hometown.
I don't even know what's friend or foe anymore 🤣
I'll be heading to the station again tomorrow morning.
Tap at the ticket gate.
Board the train.
And think to yourself,
"JR, thank you for your service again today."
……Wait a minute.
That electricity was brought all the way from Niigata, wasn't it?
In that case,
"JR, please take good care of Niigata's water🤣"
I board it again today, while complaining.
This is the true,
Give and take.
No,