Watarase Keikoku Railway Second Godo Tunnel

A Tunnel by the Godo Gorge

The Watarase Keikoku Railway Second Godo Tunnel (わたらせ渓谷鐵道第二神土トンネル) 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, 103 metres long, with a rock shed and retaining walls, registration number 10-0286.

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 Second Godo Tunnel lies about 540 metres west of Godo Station (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Value as a Registered Cultural Property

The Watarase Keikoku Railway Second Godo Tunnel was registered as a structure contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs records a 20-metre rock shed and a 7.3-metre retaining wall of reinforced concrete continuing from the west portal for safety.

What to Look For

The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes a gently curving 103-metre single-track bore four bricks thick, with dressed stone side walls and portals.

Watarase Keikoku Railway's pamphlet says the Watarase Keikoku Railway Second Godo Tunnel was originally brick throughout; a rock shed added at the Konaka end in 1958 brought it to 123 metres. The spot across the Watarase River with a view of that portal and the Godosawa bridge is popular with photographers in autumn.

Visiting

The Watarase Keikoku Railway Second Godo Tunnel comes into view about a minute after Godo Station on a Kiryu-bound train; passing on to the First 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).