山梨県は、郡内地方と国中地方という二つの地域に大別される。
富士山がある山岳部の多い関東寄りの東部の地域が郡内地域ならば、山梨県の県庁所在地である甲府市があるのは国中地方である。さらに甲府市を中心とする甲府盆地は、北は奥秩父山塊、西は南アルプス、八ヶ岳というように山岳地域に囲まれた地形を持つ。
また、甲府盆地はユーラシアプレート、北アメリカプレート、フィリピン海プレートの3つのプレートが交差する地域であり古代の山岳の隆起と沈降、笛吹川と釜無川によって運ばれた土砂が堆積し、扇状地を形成している。
東京方面から中央本線を進み、トンネルを抜けると勝沼地域から甲府盆地が一望できる。列車は、甲府方面へと斜面を駆け下りていく。煌めく街灯や車の軌跡の光の海を見下ろしながら、盆地の底へと進んでいく。
郊外を歩くと、葡萄畑がそこら中にあり、車社会の山梨では国道20号バイパスを歩くと必ずといっていいほどいつも、どこからともなく暴走族の音が響き、国道20号バイパスを駆け抜ける彼らの姿が、静けさを破るように現れる。
盆地という閉ざされた空間に包まれ、夜の静寂が一層深く感じられる。その中で、すべてが闇に溶け込んでいくような感覚が広がる。
Yamanashi Prefecture can be broadly divided into two regions: the Kōnin region and the Kokunai region. The Kōnin region is located in the eastern part of the prefecture, which is closer to the Kanto area and characterized by mountainous terrain, including Mount Fuji. On the other hand, the capital city of Yamanashi Prefecture, Kofu, is located in the Kokunai region. The Kofu Basin, centered around Kofu City, is surrounded by mountains such as the Okuchichibu Mountain Range to the north, the Southern Alps, and the Yatsugatake to the west, forming a distinctive topographical feature.
Moreover, the Kofu Basin lies at the intersection of three tectonic plates: the Eurasian Plate, the North American Plate, and the Philippine Sea Plate. It has been shaped by the ancient uplift and subsidence of mountains, as well as by the deposition of sediment carried by the Fuefukigawa and Kamanasugawa rivers, forming a fan-shaped alluvial plain.
Traveling along the Chūō Main Line from the Tokyo direction and passing through a tunnel, you can get a panoramic view of the Kofu Basin from the Katsunuma area. The train then descends towards Kofu, and as it does, you look down on a sea of shimmering streetlights and car trails of light, advancing towards the bottom of the basin.
Walking in the suburbs, you’ll find vineyards scattered everywhere. In the car-dependent society of Yamanashi, when walking along the National Route 20 bypass, you will inevitably hear the sounds of bōsōzoku (Japanese biker gangs) roaring from somewhere, and their figures zooming past, disrupting the calm as they rush down the bypass.
Enclosed within the basin, the nighttime stillness feels even more profound. In this silence, a sense emerges that everything is slowly dissolving into the darkness.
富士山がある山岳部の多い関東寄りの東部の地域が郡内地域ならば、山梨県の県庁所在地である甲府市があるのは国中地方である。さらに甲府市を中心とする甲府盆地は、北は奥秩父山塊、西は南アルプス、八ヶ岳というように山岳地域に囲まれた地形を持つ。
また、甲府盆地はユーラシアプレート、北アメリカプレート、フィリピン海プレートの3つのプレートが交差する地域であり古代の山岳の隆起と沈降、笛吹川と釜無川によって運ばれた土砂が堆積し、扇状地を形成している。
東京方面から中央本線を進み、トンネルを抜けると勝沼地域から甲府盆地が一望できる。列車は、甲府方面へと斜面を駆け下りていく。煌めく街灯や車の軌跡の光の海を見下ろしながら、盆地の底へと進んでいく。
郊外を歩くと、葡萄畑がそこら中にあり、車社会の山梨では国道20号バイパスを歩くと必ずといっていいほどいつも、どこからともなく暴走族の音が響き、国道20号バイパスを駆け抜ける彼らの姿が、静けさを破るように現れる。
盆地という閉ざされた空間に包まれ、夜の静寂が一層深く感じられる。その中で、すべてが闇に溶け込んでいくような感覚が広がる。
Yamanashi Prefecture can be broadly divided into two regions: the Kōnin region and the Kokunai region. The Kōnin region is located in the eastern part of the prefecture, which is closer to the Kanto area and characterized by mountainous terrain, including Mount Fuji. On the other hand, the capital city of Yamanashi Prefecture, Kofu, is located in the Kokunai region. The Kofu Basin, centered around Kofu City, is surrounded by mountains such as the Okuchichibu Mountain Range to the north, the Southern Alps, and the Yatsugatake to the west, forming a distinctive topographical feature.
Moreover, the Kofu Basin lies at the intersection of three tectonic plates: the Eurasian Plate, the North American Plate, and the Philippine Sea Plate. It has been shaped by the ancient uplift and subsidence of mountains, as well as by the deposition of sediment carried by the Fuefukigawa and Kamanasugawa rivers, forming a fan-shaped alluvial plain.
Traveling along the Chūō Main Line from the Tokyo direction and passing through a tunnel, you can get a panoramic view of the Kofu Basin from the Katsunuma area. The train then descends towards Kofu, and as it does, you look down on a sea of shimmering streetlights and car trails of light, advancing towards the bottom of the basin.
Walking in the suburbs, you’ll find vineyards scattered everywhere. In the car-dependent society of Yamanashi, when walking along the National Route 20 bypass, you will inevitably hear the sounds of bōsōzoku (Japanese biker gangs) roaring from somewhere, and their figures zooming past, disrupting the calm as they rush down the bypass.
Enclosed within the basin, the nighttime stillness feels even more profound. In this silence, a sense emerges that everything is slowly dissolving into the darkness.