Watarase Keikoku Railway Second Kanbai Tunnel

The Best-Preserved Tunnel

The Watarase Keikoku Railway Second Kanbai Tunnel (わたらせ渓谷鐵道第二神梅トンネル) is a single-track brick and stone tunnel built in 1912 at Omama-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, 27 metres long, with retaining walls, registration number 10-0298.

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 Kanbai Tunnel lies about 90 metres south-east of the Third Kanbai Tunnel (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Value as a Registered Cultural Property

The Watarase Keikoku Railway Second Kanbai Tunnel was registered as a structure contributing to the historic landscape of the country. Watarase Keikoku Railway calls it the tunnel that best keeps its original form, apart from concrete sprayed on to stop leaks.

What to Look For

The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes a straight 27-metre single-track bore lined entirely in brick; the portals are four bricks thick with an Edo-style dressed keystone, the two portal faces are laid in different stone bonds, and a 7.7-metre diagonal-laid retaining wall continues to the north.

Watarase Keikoku Railway notes that the three Kanbai tunnels were dug where steep cliffs crowd the Watarase River, a stretch known as the Seven Bends and feared on the old Copper Road.

Visiting

The Watarase Keikoku Railway Second Kanbai Tunnel can be seen between Omama and Kamikanbai stations (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 Shimokanbai, Omama-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).