Former JNR Shihoro Line Otofuke Tunnel

A Tunnel Cut Through Frozen Ground

The Former JNR Shihoro Line Otofuke Tunnel (旧国鉄士幌線音更トンネル) is a railway tunnel of 1937 in Kamishihoro, Kato District, Hokkaido, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on January 31, 2003 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency records a concrete tunnel 165 metres long; registration number 01-0052.

A Curved Tunnel in Frozen Ground

The Former JNR Shihoro Line Otofuke Tunnel is a 165-metre concrete tunnel driven through frozen ground at the foot of the Daisetsuzan mountains (Agency for Cultural Affairs). It follows a curve in plan and was built for a single track.

It lies in the Horoka district of Kamishihoro, like the Horoka Station Platform and the Fifth Otofuke River Bridge. Of the nine registered Shihoro Line structures, it is the only one that is neither a bridge nor a station.

Why It Was Registered

What the Agency singles out is the portal. Its face is battered back at a slope matched to the hillside, and it is set at an angle to the track, an unusual form.

It was registered as a structure that would not be easy to reproduce; it is the only one of the nine Shihoro Line properties registered on that ground. The other eight were all registered for their contribution to the historic landscape.

What to Look For

The portal is the thing to see. Its face leans slightly back and sits at an angle to the line of the track, so even standing in front of it the opening looks slightly askew (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Because the tunnel curves, the far end cannot be seen from the entrance.

Visiting

No official information was found on access to the tunnel or a route to see it. The inside is an unlit disused railway tunnel, and going in is not advisable. This is also brown bear country, so take great care if you approach it.