FUKUSHIMA － Large pillars of ice have formed inside a tunnel on an old route that connects Fukushima with Yonezawa, Yamagata Prefecture. The Futatsukoya Tunnel is one of the tunnels left on the old road, called the Banseitairo, along the Kuriko Pass. The spectacle of the five-meter-high ice pillars is evocative of a shrine. The ice pillars usually remain until early March every year.

　福島市と山形県米沢市にまたがる栗子峠の旧道「万世大路（ばんせいたいろ）」に残るトンネル跡の一つ、二ツ小屋隧道（ずいどう）に巨大な氷柱が現れた。高さ約５メートルの氷の柱が連なる様子は、まるで神殿のようだ。

　The Banseitairo was built over a period from 1876 to 1881 by Michitsune Mishima, the first governor of Yamagata Prefecture, as a path from Fukushima to Yonezawa.

　万世大路は１８７６（明治９）～８１年に山形県初代県令三島通庸（みちつね）によって造られた、福島市から山形県米沢市に抜ける道路。

　 According to Fukushima resident Katsuo Saito, 64, who has been visiting the tunnel for more than 10 years, the ice formations are formed by water that comes through holes in the top of the tunnel, with the size of the pillars varying each year.

　１０年以上前から、同所を訪れている福島市の自営業斎藤勝雄さん（６４）によると、氷柱は天井の割れ目から滴り落ちた水が凍ったもので、大きさは年によって異なるという。

　The tunnel can be reached via a snowshoe trek of about an hour from the Higashikuriko Tunnel on National Highway Route 13. There is a slope covered in deep snow on the way to the Futatsukoya Tunnel. Visitors must go to the tunnel with an experienced guide as it is easy to get lost.

（　Translated by The Japan News　）

　現地は、国道１３号東栗子トンネル付近からスノーシューを履いて徒歩で約１時間。雪深い斜面を登り、迷いやすいため上級者の同行が必要。

　【　２０１７年２月６日・福島民友新聞掲載　】