Former JNR Shihoro Line Nukabira River Bridge

An Arch Built for the New Line

The Former JNR Shihoro Line Nukabira River Bridge (旧国鉄士幌線糠平川橋梁) is a four-span concrete arch bridge of 1955 in Kamishihoro, Kato District, Hokkaido, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on June 28, 2017 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a four-span concrete arch bridge 74 metres long; registration number 01-0150.

A Bridge for the Rerouted Line

The Former JNR Shihoro Line Nukabira River Bridge is a four-span concrete arch bridge built in 1955, when the line was rerouted, across the mouth of the Nukabira River where it enters Lake Nukabira (Agency for Cultural Affairs). With the Sannosawa Bridge it is the youngest of the nine registered Shihoro Line structures.

It is 74 metres long, with three 15-metre arches and one 10-metre arch, and it follows a gentle curve rather than a straight line (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Why It Was Registered

The Agency notes that its run of long arches creates a broad, open landscape, and it was registered for its contribution to the historic landscape. The rerouted line of 1955 kept the concrete arch of the prewar bridges, showing that the Shihoro Line's way of building carried on after the war.

What to Look For

Look for the three 15-metre arches set along the curving plan. From beside the bridge you can see each arch turn slightly to follow the curve.

Kamishihoro Town records that railings were added to the bridge in November 2004 for the Higashi-Taisetsu section of the Hokkaido Nature Trail, and that 8.5 kilometres of the trail around Nukabira opened on July 24, 2005.

Visiting

Fitted out as part of a nature trail, the bridge can be walked across (Kamishihoro Town; Hokkaido Fan Magazine). Hokkaido Fan Magazine puts it at about a 15-minute walk from the centre of Nukabira Gensenkyo. No official information was found on access in winter or high water.