The overpass that ties the station together
At the southern end of Shelters No.1 and No.2, a covered steel bridge climbs over the tracks. This is the transfer overpass, and its job is connective: it links the main building with both faces of the island platforms, letting passengers cross without stepping onto the rails.
The structure is steel, 20.4 metres long and 3.3 metres wide, roofed with slate over a gable. Its main span is a through-type Pratt truss (kaji-shiki platto torasu), the load-bearing trusses rising on either side of the walkway, while the roof above sits on king-post trusses. It is the one part of the station that came a little later than the rest.
Older than it first looks
While the depot and shelters date from 1922, the transfer bridge was put up in 1927 (Showa 2), with alterations in the mid-Showa years between roughly 1946 and 1965. For a railway-station overpass in Kagawa that is an early date, and among such footbridges in the prefecture it ranks with the oldest.
That standing is what its registration recognises. Entered on the national register in 2012 under the historic-landscape criterion, the bridge records how a busy shrine station managed the movement of crowds between platforms in the interwar years, in riveted steel rather than concrete.
What to look for
Cross it slowly. From inside the walkway the through-truss forms the walls on either hand, its members meeting overhead where the king-post roof carries the slate. Look for the rivets and the honest, exposed steelwork of an age before welding.
From the platform below, the bridge reads as the clasp that closes the station's long composition: main building, twin canopies, and this steel span drawing the ends together at the south. Watch the trains pass beneath it and the practical purpose of the whole arrangement becomes plain.
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Q&A
- How is the bridge built?
- It is a steel structure 20.4 metres long and 3.3 metres wide. The main span is a through-type Pratt truss, with king-post trusses carrying a gabled slate roof above the walkway.
- How old is it?
- The bridge was erected in 1927 (Showa 2), later than the 1922 depot and shelters, with alterations in the mid-Showa period. It ranks among the oldest station footbridges in Kagawa.
- What does it connect?
- It links the main building with both faces of the island platforms, letting passengers transfer across the tracks without stepping onto the rails.
- When was it registered?
- It was registered as a Tangible Cultural Property on 13 August 2012 (reg. no. 37-0382), with the other four station structures.
- What is a through-type Pratt truss?
- A truss where the deck passes between the load-bearing trusses, so the trusses form the sides of the walkway rather than sitting beneath it. Here they double as the bridge's walls.
Basic Information
| Name | JR Kotohira Station Transfer Bridge (ＪＲ琴平駅乗換跨線橋) |
|---|---|
| Location | 857-1 Yokose, Enai, Kotohira-cho, Nakatado-gun, Kagawa (香川県仲多度郡琴平町榎井字横瀬857-1他) |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property, registered 13 Aug 2012 (reg. no. 37-0382) |
| Date | 1927 (Showa 2); altered mid-Showa (c.1946-1965) |
| Structure | Steel; bridge length 20.4 m, width 3.3 m; through-type Pratt truss main span, king-post roof |
| Owner | Shikoku Railway Company / JR Shikoku (四国旅客鉄道株式会社) |
| Access | At the south end of the platforms, Kotohira Station, Dosan Line |
References
- 国指定文化財等データベース — ＪＲ琴平駅乗換跨線橋
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00009386
- 四国旅客鉄道（JR四国）
- https://www.jr-shikoku.co.jp/
- Wikipedia — 琴平駅
- https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%90%B4%E5%B9%B3%E9%A7%85
Last verified: 2026.07.05