Nagare-bashi

photo by Nodaunji · CC BY-SA 4.0

356 metres of wood with no railings: when the river floods, the deck comes away and goes downstream.

You get off the bus and after five minutes on foot the bridge is there: three hundred and fifty-six and a half metres of wood, three point three wide, with no railings and no parapet, above the bed of the Kizu. It is built to surrender: when the river rises, the deck comes away, drifts downstream and is then put back. That is why period films have been shot here for decades.

A wooden footbridge over the Kizu River, between Yawata and Kumiyama, 356.5 metres long and 3.3 wide: one of the longest wooden bridges in the country. It is designed so that the deck floats away with the flood instead of resisting the water. Today it combines wood and reinforced concrete, and the deck has been raised by 75 centimetres to reduce how often it is carried away. The municipality states that the preserved landscape around it makes it a regular location for film and television.

ℹ️ There is no charge and the car park is free. From Iwashimizu-Hachimangū Station take the Keihan bus to the 上津屋流れ橋 bus stop and walk about five minutes north. ⚠️ After a flood the bridge may be closed: that is how it works, not a fault. ⚠️ It has no railings or parapet: hold small children by the hand, and if you are afraid of water, be aware of this before you get there.

🚉 浜上津屋 · 5 min walk

Sources: city.yawata.kyoto.jp

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