久しぶりに東京都千代田区の国会図書館に行ってきた

あの病気（新型コロナ）の感染中、ずっとご無沙汰していた国会図書館に久しぶりに行ってみた。
サラリーマンをしていた頃は、通勤定期券を持っていたので、新宿からＪＲ市ヶ谷駅まで行って、そこから地下鉄に乗って永田町駅で降りた。
今回は、新宿駅から地下鉄丸ノ内線で四ツ谷駅まで行き、地下鉄南北線に乗り換えて永田町駅に行った。
久しぶりに乗った丸ノ内線の車両のデザインがおしゃれになっていた。
乗ったのは１０時半だったが、地下鉄が予想外に混んでいた。
南北線はまだしも、丸ノ内線がかなり混んでいて、通勤ピーク時はどれくらい混雑しているもだろうかと思った。

永田町駅から国会図書館まで、途中少し坂になった道を１０分程度歩いた。
前は、用意された使い捨てのプラスティックの透明な手提げ袋に、ペットボトルを入れて持って入ったが、今は再利用できる手提げ袋に代わっていた。

入館証をゲートにかざして入ってみると、コンピュータ端末の台数が相当ふえていた。この日、利用者もあまり多くなかったので、すぐ閲覧予約ができた（国会図書館は閉架式）。

申し込んだら、３０分程度で用意できます、と表示されたが、実際は１５分程度だった。何回か来たことがあるが、今回は最もすいていたと思う。

ここには食堂があり、感染症拡大時に閉鎖され、その後業者が代わって再開された。値段が手ごろな「国会図書館カレー」を食べてみた。
タイトル写真にあるように、大きめのジャガイモが二切れのっている。
満腹感は得られるが、甘めの味で、今度来た時にまた食べたいとは思わなかった。

読みたかったものをじっくり読めたし、来たかいがあった、
暑い中、歩かないといけないし、電車賃もかかるが、美術館や博物館と違い国会図書館の入館料はタダだ。近くの図書館に置いていないものを読めるので、今後も時々行ってみよう。

帰るとき、永田町駅の入り口にはおまわりさんが立っていた。何かあったのかどうか、問いかけてはみなかった。

新宿駅西口は、「再開発」と称する工事をしていて、通路がいくつか封鎖されていた。使える通路は混雑していてうっとおしい。

タイトル写真は、食べログから引用した、国会図書館の食堂の自動販売機の写真

I went to the National Diet Library in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo for the first time in a while.

I went to the National Diet Library, which I hadn't been to in a long time. When I was working as an office worker, I had a commuter pass, so I would go from Shinjuku to JR Ichigaya Station, then take the subway to Nagatacho Station. This time, I took the Marunouchi Line from Shinjuku to Yotsuya Station, then changed to the Namboku Line to Nagatacho Station. It had been a while since I last rode the Marunouchi Line, and the carriages had a stylish design.
I got on at 10:30, and the subway was unexpectedly crowded. The Namboku Line was okay, but the Marunouchi Line was extremely crowded, and I wondered how crowded it would be during peak commuting hours.

It took about 10 minutes to walk from Nagatacho Station to the National Diet Library, up a slightly hilly road. Previously, I had to carry our PET bottles in the disposable clear plastic carrier bags provided, but now they have replaced them with reusable carrier bags.

When I held my admission card up to the gate and entered, I noticed that the number of computer terminals had increased considerably. There weren't many people using the library that day, so I was able to make a reservation to view the materials right away (the National Diet Library has closed stacks).

When I applied, it said it would be ready in about 30 minutes, but it actually took about 15 minutes. I've been here a few times, but this time I think it had the fewest borrowers of any other time.

There is a restaurant here, which was closed during the pandemic and then reopened by a new operator. I tried the reasonably priced "National Diet Library Curry." As you can see in the title photo, it comes with two large slices of potato on top. It left me feeling full, but it was on the sweet side, and I don't think I'll want to eat it again the next time I come.

I was able to take my time to read what I wanted, so it was worth coming. I had to walk in the heat and had to pay for the train fare, but unlike art galleries and museums, admission to the National Diet Library is free. I can read things that aren't available at my local library, so I'll try to go from time to time in the future.

When I was leaving, there was a policeman standing at the entrance to Nagatacho Station. I didn't ask if there was something wrong.

The west exit of Shinjuku Station was undergoing construction work called "redevelopment," and several passageways were closed. The usable passageways were crowded and annoying.

The title photo is a photo of a vending machine in the National Diet Library cafeteria taken from Tabelog.