Watarase Keikoku Railway First Godo Tunnel

A Tunnel with a Dated Rock Shed

The Watarase Keikoku Railway First Godo Tunnel (わたらせ渓谷鐵道第一神土トンネル) is a single-track tunnel later fitted with a rock shed first built in 1912 at Godo, Azuma-cho, Midori City, Gunma Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on November 2, 2009 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records brick and stone, 98 metres long, with a rock shed and retaining walls, registration number 10-0287.

The Ashio Copper Railway

According to Watarase Keikoku Railway, the Ashio copper mine, bought by Furukawa Ichibei in 1877, grew to produce half of Japan's copper, more than horses and a horse tramway could carry, so a railway was built from Kiryu to Ashio. The Ashio Railway opened to Omama in 1911, reached Ashio in December 1912 and was completed to Ashio Honzan in 1914. Nationalised in 1918 as the Ashio Line, it has been run by Watarase Keikoku Railway since 1989.

The Watarase Keikoku Railway First Godo Tunnel lies about 180 metres west of the Second Godo Tunnel (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Value as a Registered Cultural Property

The Watarase Keikoku Railway First Godo Tunnel was registered as a structure contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs records a plate on the rock shed giving details such as the quality of its materials.

What to Look For

The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes a gently curving 98-metre single-track bore four bricks thick, with a reinforced-concrete rock shed of varying thickness at the east portal and a 31-metre cobble retaining wall at the west.

Watarase Keikoku Railway's pamphlet says the Watarase Keikoku Railway First Godo Tunnel originally had dressed stone walls and a brick roof; a rock shed was added at the Godo end in 1958 for safety, making it 103 metres long.

Visiting

The Watarase Keikoku Railway First Godo Tunnel comes into view about two minutes after Konaka Station on a Mato-bound train; passing from it to the Second Godo Tunnel takes about a minute (Watarase Keikoku Railway). Watarase Keikoku Railway notes that all of its registered structures can be seen from the train.

Do not enter the tracks; view it from the train, the station or nearby roads. It is located at Godo, Azuma-cho, Midori City, Gunma Prefecture. Of the line's 38 registered structures, the 26 in Gunma and 11 in Tochigi are gathered on the group pages Watarase Keikoku Railway (Gunma Section) and Watarase Keikoku Railway (Tochigi Section).