Former Iida Weather Station
I visited the Iida Weather Station in November.
It was around 4:00 p.m. when I visited, so I could not take good pictures because the shadows of the plants were reflected on the building. Therefore, I will also use the photos of the exterior taken in May of last year.
Exterior view of the former Iida Weather Station.
This building was completed in December 1922, and observation began in January of the following year.
It was used for observation for 79 years until 2002, when the observatory was relocated to Takaha-cho, Iida City.
The anemometer tower on the right was rebuilt with reinforced concrete in 1960. Before that, a wooden anemometer tower had been erected.
The building is a one-story building with a tiled roof with a carriage porch in front and a tower on the roof.
The inside of the building is open to visitors free of charge.
I was told that photography is allowed inside the building.
Since the building underwent seismic retrofitting between 2011 and 2013, the interior has been newly renovated, including the floors and walls.
The doors, window frames, and other fittings are the same as when the building was constructed.
In the exhibition room, instruments used for weather observation and panels explaining the history of the weather station are on display.
The equipment in this photo is an earthquake observation device.
Let’s take a look at the history of the weather station.
In 1895-1896, the mayor of Shimoina County and other influential local people requested the prefectural government to establish a local weather station by the reason of the relationship between sericulture and weather. Nagano Prefecture established the weather station on the premises of the Shimoina County Agricultural Experiment Station, located in Higashio, Kami-Iida Village, Shimoina County. The building of the weather station was borrowed from the Agricultural Experiment Station, and observation operations began in August 1897.
This was the beginning of the Iida Weather Station.
In 1904, the Agricultural Experiment Station was abolished, and only the weather station occupied its premises.
However, in 1919, a problem occurred.
The Ina Electric Railway was in the process of extending its line to Iida, and it was revealed that the line was scheduled to run near the weather station. There was concern that the vibration would affect the seismographs, so the decision was made to relocate the weather station.
The weather station was therefore relocated to its current location.
Construction began in December 1921 and was completed in December 1922. Observation operations began on January 1, 1923.
The observation equipment was installed on a separate foundation so as not to be affected by building vibrations.
This is the foundation on which the columns of the rain gauge were placed.
This is another room. It was originally called the meteorological observation room, but is now used as a conference room.
In 1960, the anemometer tower was rebuilt, and in 1966, the second building was constructed in front of the tower.
Observations were conducted in this building until 2002, when the observatory was relocated.
Iida City acquired the building in 2007, and from 2011 to 2013, seismic retrofitting and other work was carried out. (The second building was demolished.)
In 2014, the building became a center for the promotion of environmental activities by citizens and the government. The permanent exhibits are open to the public, and anyone can freely visit the building during its opening hours, although applications are required to use the conference rooms and other facilities.
The building was registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property in 2012.
Office building and anemometer tower. The anemometer tower is now closed and cannot be climbed.
Back of the office building. The part protruding from the wall is a restroom.
This is a warehouse on the west side of the building. It was built in 1922, the same year as the office building.
It is said to be the first reinforced concrete building in the Iida and Shimoina area.
Next to the warehouse stands the Wakisaka Gate, which dates back to the Iida domain. The gate and the warehouse are so close together that it is a little uncomfortable to look at.
This gate was located near here in the Edo period, but was moved to the current location near the Iida City Museum of Art in 1869 (There is a heresy).
In 2014 (Heisei 16), it was moved again here because it was closer to the original location. Therefore, it was not here when the weather station was built.
There is a Someiyoshino (Prunus yedoensis) tree on the site, which was used to declare Iida in bloom from 1948 to 2004.
Although they no longer declare the blooming of the cherry trees, flower-viewing visitors are still visited every year.
There is a park with playground equipment on the east side of the old weather station site, and a grassy plaza on the south side of the park, which is a place for citizens to relax.
[Reference] (written in Japanese)
“Iida Weather Station: 100 Years since Founding" (Naoshi Ishikawa / ‘Weather’ No. 491 / Japan Weather Association / 1998)
“Gate of the former Iida Clan’s Horse Riding Ground (commonly known as Wakisaka Gate)" (Iida City Cultural Properties Protection Information Site)
* Exhibition in the former Iida Weather Station