Wakasa Railway Hatto River Bridge No. 1

The Longest Bridge on the Line

Wakasa Railway Hatto River Bridge No. 1 (若桜鉄道第一八東川橋梁, Hattō-gawa) is a 139-metre, eight-span steel girder bridge carrying the Wakasa Railway across the Hattō River at Kunōji in Yazu Town, Tottori Prefecture; it was completed in 1929 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 8 July 2008.

No other bridge on the line is as long. It sits about 550 metres northwest of Inaba-Funaoka Station, so for anyone riding up the valley from Kōge it is the first big river crossing.

The girders rest on round piers of coursed granite. Three girders of 13 metres and five of 19 metres are laid end to end, and the whole deck bends in a gentle arc across the water. These are deck plate girders: the train runs on top of the steel beams rather than between them.

Why It Was Registered

The registration cites its contribution to Japan's historic landscape. The Kōge to Hayabusa stretch was the first construction section of the Wakasa Line, its earthworks were finished in April 1929 and it opened to traffic the following January. Hatto River Bridge No. 1 belongs to that first phase, the earliest major structure the builders completed.

The line has two families of bridges. Three small crossings reuse old girders shipped in from other lines. The three Hattō River bridges, this one included, were built new and are described as using the Tatsu 540 standard girder, a design laid down by a 1919 directive. With all eight spans and their stone piers intact, Wakasa Railway Hatto River Bridge No. 1 is a complete example of the kind of steel bridge that went into rural branch lines in the early Shōwa years.

What to Look For

The curve is the thing. Straight girders are set at slightly shifting angles so the bridge swings across the river instead of running straight. According to the railway, trains ease off on this bend, which gives passengers a slow view of the river and the fields on either bank.

From the ground, look at the piers. The rounded masonry shafts shed the current more readily than square piers would, and the two girder lengths show up as two different spacings between supports when you view the bridge side-on.

Visiting

This is a working railway bridge, and the deck and track are off limits. The simplest way to see it is to ride across: heading up the line from Kōge, the train crosses just after Yazu Kōkō-mae and shortly before Inaba-Funaoka. From outside, it is viewed from nearby roads and the riverbank. Keep well back from the rails and stay off private farmland when taking photographs.

Inaba-Funaoka Station is the nearest stop, about 550 metres away. Getting to the line and buying tickets are covered on the Wakasa Railway page.