A Brick Tunnel Cut for Copper
The Former Besshi Mine Railway Hadeba Tunnel is a brick railway tunnel of 1893 in Tachikawacho, Niihama City, Ehime Prefecture, listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 7 August 2009. It runs 93 meters on a gentle curve, 3.0 meters wide, with a horseshoe section.
The bore was driven for the lower line of the Besshi Mine Railway, opened in 1893 to bring copper ore down from the mountains to the smelting works on the coast at Niihama. Hadeba, the district at the mountain end of the line, went on to house the mine's last headquarters. Sumitomo had opened the Besshi ore body in 1691 and worked it until 1973.
Niihama City records the structure under the local name Nakao Tunnel, gives its length as 92.55 meters, and credits the design to Ogawa Tōgo, an engineer in Sumitomo's employ who prepared the works for the 1893 opening. The tunnel and the iron bridge a short distance to the south were built for the same line in the same year, but the two came from different worlds: the bridge arrived from Germany as a crate of metal members, while the tunnel was designed in Japan and laid up in brick by hand.
Why the Tunnel Was Registered
Registration came under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country, and the tunnel carries registry number 38-0090. The public notice followed on 25 August 2009. It is counted as one structure.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the Former Besshi Mine Railway Hadeba Tunnel as one of the structures that represent the Hadeba district as it developed in the modern period. Its value rests on the masonry. Japan had been making its own bricks for only a few decades in 1893, and a curved, horseshoe-profiled bore of this length asked a great deal of the bricklayers: every course in the arch has to close on a slightly different radius as the alignment bends.
The tunnel portal was given a designed face rather than a plain opening. Pilasters, which are shallow rectangular piers standing proud of the wall, flank the arch, and the keystone at the crown is dressed on two faces so that it reads as a distinct block against the surrounding brick. Neither element carries load the wall could not carry alone. They were put there to be looked at.
What to Look For
Approach the portal and the bond gives itself away. Niihama City records the side walls as stretcher bond, meaning every visible brick shows its long face, course after course, with the joints offset by half a brick. It is the plainest of the structural bonds and it reads as a calm horizontal grain, quite unlike the alternating long and short faces of the English bond used on many Meiji-era Japanese brick buildings.
Set that against the pilasters and the arch ring, where the brick changes character and the eye is drawn upward to the two-faced keystone. The contrast between the plain wall and the worked opening is the whole design.
Once inside, watch the far mouth. Because the alignment curves, the daylight ahead swings slowly across the arch instead of sitting still, and for a few seconds in the middle of the bore neither end is fully in view. The 3.0-meter width leaves very little room beside the carriage, and the brick passes close enough to see individual joints. Bring nothing that projects from a window.
The train runs at around 10 kilometers per hour, so a 93-meter tunnel takes something over half a minute to clear. Spend it on the ceiling rather than the phone.
Visiting
The tunnel is still carrying trains. Minetopia Besshi, the mine heritage park at Hadeba, runs a tourist train called Besshi No. 1 along the original alignment, and passing through the Former Besshi Mine Railway Hadeba Tunnel is part of the ride. There is no walkway beside the track, so the tunnel can only be entered aboard the train.
Two tickets include the passage. The mine tour, which pairs the round trip by train with a walk through the show tunnel, costs 1,500 yen for adults, 1,100 yen for junior and senior high school students and 900 yen for children aged three through elementary school. The Besshi No. 1 ride alone costs 700 yen for adults, 600 yen for junior and senior high school students and 500 yen for children aged three through elementary school. Outbound departures leave at 00, 20 and 40 minutes past the hour, and return trains at 05, 25 and 45 minutes past. Opening hours change with the season and vary between facilities inside the park, so check the operator's site before travelling. There is no regular closing day.
Entry to the grounds is free and so is the car park. No photography ban is posted; pictures from inside the carriage work well at the portal, less so in the bore, where the light drops sharply.
From JR Niihama Station, take a Setouchi bus bound for Minetopia Besshi and ride to the terminus. By car, the park lies about 6 kilometers from the Niihama interchange on the Matsuyama Expressway, roughly 12 minutes.
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Q&A
- Can I go inside the Former Besshi Mine Railway Hadeba Tunnel, and what does it cost?
- Yes, aboard the Besshi No. 1 tourist train at Minetopia Besshi in Niihama. The train-only ticket is 700 yen for adults, 600 yen for junior and senior high school students and 500 yen for children aged three through elementary school. The combined mine tour ticket is 1,500 yen, 1,100 yen and 900 yen respectively. Walking into the tunnel is not permitted.
- How long is the Former Besshi Mine Railway Hadeba Tunnel?
- The national register gives 93 meters in length and 3.0 meters in width, with a horseshoe-shaped section. Niihama City states the length more precisely as 92.55 meters.
- When was the Hadeba Tunnel built, and who designed it?
- It was completed in 1893 for the opening of the lower line of the Besshi Mine Railway. Niihama City attributes the design to Ogawa Tōgo, an engineer working for Sumitomo. It was entered on the register of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on 7 August 2009 under registry number 38-0090.
- Is the Hadeba Tunnel the same as the Nakao Tunnel?
- Yes. Nakao Tunnel is the local name; the register uses Former Besshi Mine Railway Hadeba Tunnel. The iron bridge on the same line lies a short distance to the south and is registered separately.
- How do I reach the Hadeba Tunnel from Niihama Station?
- Take a Setouchi bus from JR Niihama Station toward Minetopia Besshi and stay on to the last stop. Drivers should allow around 12 minutes for the 6 kilometers from the Niihama interchange on the Matsuyama Expressway. Parking is free.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Besshi Mine Railway Hadeba Tunnel |
|---|---|
| Location | Tachikawacho, Niihama City, Ehime Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure), registry number 38-0090 |
| Year Designated | Registered 7 August 2009 (Heisei 21); public notice 25 August 2009 |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | Brick construction; length 93 meters, width 3.0 meters, horseshoe section |
| Owner | Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Passed through by the Besshi No. 1 tourist train at Minetopia Besshi; entry on foot is not permitted |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Former Besshi Mine Railway Hadeba Tunnel
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00007809
- Cultural Heritage Online: Former Besshi Mine Railway Hadeba Tunnel
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/192530
- Niihama City, Besshi Copper Mine Cultural Heritage Division: New Registered Tangible Cultural Property (4), Former Besshi Mine Railway Hadeba Tunnel
- https://www.city.niihama.lg.jp/soshiki/dozan/torokubesshitekkyo.html
- Niihama City: Five Properties Added to the National Register of Tangible Cultural Properties (2009)
- https://www.city.niihama.lg.jp/soshiki/dozan/torokuyuukei.html
- Ehime Prefecture, Cultural Properties of Ehime: Former Besshi Mine Railway Hadeba Tunnel
- https://www.pref.ehime.jp/ehimenotakara/670.html
- Minetopia Besshi: Mine Tour and Besshi No. 1 Train Ride
- https://besshi.com/hadeba/mine-train/
- Minetopia Besshi: Admission and Ticket Prices
- https://besshi.com/price/
- Minetopia Besshi: Access
- https://besshi.com/access/
Last verified: 2026.09.04