Saruhashi Bridge

photo by Aimaimyi · CC BY-SA 3.0

photo by 江戸村のとくぞう · CC BY-SA 4.0

No pillar touches the water: the bridge runs at a height of 31 metres on beams set into the rock.

The gorge is too deep for piers: four rows of beams (刎木, haneki) are set into the rock of both banks and cantilever out until they meet in the middle, without touching the water that flows 31 metres below. Just 30.9 metres long, it is one of the three strangest bridges in Japan (日本三奇橋).

Cantilever bridge over the Katsura River, in the municipality of Ōtsuki; a national Place of Scenic Beauty since 1932. Legend dates it to 610, inspired by monkeys helping one another across the ravine; the current structure follows a reconstruction of 1851.

ℹ️ Public bridge, always open and free. About 1.2 km from Saruhashi Station (JR Chūō Line), or 500 metres from the Saruhashi bus stop on the Chūō Expressway.

🚉 Torisawa · 33 min walk

Sources: ja.wikipedia.org

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