The 100 yen fare

Much depends on Mr. Sugiura: a worried grandmother's visit to the temple, a young couple's picnic in a park, a man's practice on a golf course, the livelihood of two women selling refreshments and snacks, and the fulfillment of whims for hundreds of people a day.

Mr. Sugiura is the captain of a fleet of four boats that carry these people across the Edogawa river. Everyday from mid-March to the end of November, he pilots his passengers from one muddy bank to the other on the "Yagiri no Watashi," the only one-man ferryboat left in Tokyo. Since Meiji times, the Sugiura family has been crossing back and forth from Shibamata to Chiba. Now Mr. Sugiura, the fourth-generation son, carries on the tradition.

His two piers are each shaded by a grove of willow trees. On the Chiba side, two women in a ramshackle shed next to the golf course and park, sell refreshments and souvenirs of the trip: telephone cards (gold, silver, or full-color) with a view of Sugiura's boat in mid-river; or a set of lovely black and white woodblock prints of scenes, near and far, of his boat crossing or docking or moored at the spindly pier. On the Shibamata side under another grove of willows, an old man in a straw hat sits on a mat and rolls colored plastic wrapping tape into tight cord and weaves pairs of miniscule red or blue or green zori. Good luck charms, he says, against traffic accidents.

Made of bamboo, weather-worn wood and cracked planks held together with wire and rope, the piers appear to be rickety contraptions, but they are quite sturdy. Small neatly-lettered signs announce the ferry schedule: 9 to 5 everyday except for stormy or rainy days or days of very high wind. If you see the flag flying, the ferry will be operating. The signs also gently remind would-be passengers to make sure they've locked their cars and taken their valuables. There must be thieves in the wilds of Chiba, because no such warning is given on the Tokyo side.

Mr. Sugiura is a compact powerful man with great thick arms and legs browned by constant sun. He dresses for comfort and ease of movement - a towel tied round his head, a T-shirt, white gloves, shorts and tabi. In Edo times this spot was the only crossing point allowed for farmers from Chiba to bring produce into the city and there is still no pedestrian bridge in the area. The river, pier to pier, is one hundred and fifty meters wide and 8 meters at its deepest point. Mr. Sugiura makes the round trip about 30 times a day which works out to about 9 kilometers of daily navigation.

Before new passengers are allowed onto his boat, he gives the dockside gunwale a quick sweep with a broom. Then he welcomes you aboard, collecting the fare as you step down the gangplank. The boat is low and wide, rather like an oversized rowboat, and will carry up to 33 passengers, but he usually carries only 6 to 10. Occasionally Mr. Sugiura must ask someone to shift position to even out the load. On a good day he might transport 300 passengers. With a long thin bamboo pole he pushes away from the pier and the journey begins.

At the stern is one long oar made of two sections bolted together at an angle for minimum rowing effort and maximum thrust. A small handle sticks up from the business end of the oar to give extra leverage to the rowing. With clean economy Mr. Sugiura leans back and forth and with a slight rolling of the wrists propels his boat forward. As he rows Mr. Sugiura looks out at the river and doesn't seem bothered by much. He points out herons looking for crabs crawling along the shore or among the reeds, but mostly he just watches the current. One thing does concern him though: whether his son, who is now on summer vacation, will become the 5th generation Sugiura to captain the fleet. It depends on business, he says - if the customers keep coming, the son will row.

Passengers whisper and take pictures, but the trip is mostly quiet with only the liquid sound of water against the hull or the soft knock of oar against lock and lasts only about six or seven minutes until the prow gently noses against the opposite pier, but Mr. Sugiura takes you to a time and place not reachable by any other transport. The fare is 100 yen.

-- mjk