Kinu-Tateiwa Suspension Bridge

photo by 掬茶 · CC BY-SA 3.0

photo by くろふね · CC BY 4.0

140 metres long, hanging 40 above the Kinugawa: they call it the ‘bridge that binds ties’.

The footbridge, 140 metres long and about 40 high above the river, links the Kinugawa Onsen hot-spring district to the Tateiwa cliff. Its popular name, ‘bridge of bonds’ (縁結びの橋), comes from the symbolic pairing of the cliff, seen as male, and the river, seen as female. On the far bank, a ten-minute walk takes you to the Tateiwa viewpoint and a small shrine with a bell dedicated to romantic ties.

The bridge is a recent piece of infrastructure intended to give the hot-spring district a free viewpoint that is always open, an alternative to the hotels' private baths. The Tateiwa cliff, once reachable only from the river, is now the focus of a short walking route with a waterfall and a shrine.

ℹ️ Free pedestrian access, no vehicles allowed. 12 minutes on foot from Kinugawa Onsen Station (Tōbu). The best time for the autumn leaves is from late October to mid-November.

🚉 Kinugawa-onsen · 12 min walk

Sources: tochigiji.or.jp

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