A man with a fishing rod was nodding off on a boat floating on Benkei Moat

Boat on Benkei Moat — Man nodding off on a boat at Benkei Moat

Although I only roughly recognize the inner moat and outer moat, the inner moat and outer moat do not surround the Imperial Palace in a circle. Both the inner and outer moats are a collection of moats, and each moat has its name.

For example, the inner moat around Sakurada-mon is called Sakurada Moat, the one around Nijubashi Bridge is called Nijubashi Moat, and the one around Hanzo-mon is called Hanzo Moat. It is the same for the outer moat. The Benkei Bridge in Akasaka-Mitsuke, where I wandered on this day, is part of the outer moat called Benkei Moat.

The nearby Tameike pond, which was also part of the outer moat, was gradually reclaimed from the mid-Edo period and has completely disappeared, leaving only its name in the name of the place.

In contrast, the Benkei moat is still filled with water, and the outer moat, which no longer serves to defend Edo Castle, is now used as a place for relaxation. There are fishing ponds and boat ramps here. On this day, many boats were floating in the Benkei moat. I thought it would be only families and couples who would ride rowboats at the boat ramp, but it was not so. Many of them were holding fishing rods and getting into the boats. The person on the boat in the photo was also hanging a fishing line, but was looking down as if he was not catching as much fish as he thought he would. He looked as if he was being reprimanded for his performance by the surrounding buildings.

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