Oike No. 2 Bridge: The Longest Span on the Kishigawa Line
A short way along the same stretch of water, the Kishigawa Line crosses Oike a second time, and here on a longer structure. Oike No. 2 Bridge runs 51 meters, built as seven girder spans in a row, and at that length it is the longest bridge on the entire line. It carries a single track on paired plate I-beams seven meters long, the same beam type used at its neighbor a little to the west.
The supports repay a close look. The piers are cylindrical columns of reinforced concrete, a clean and economical form. The abutments at each end combine a reinforced-concrete core with wing walls of dry-laid stone, the masonry stacked without mortar to either side of the concrete. Like its companion, the bridge was raised in 1933 for the extension that carried the line east to Kishi, and it has crossed the pond ever since.
Why It Is Registered
The bridge was entered on the national register in 2014 as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property. This category, established in 1996, is lighter than the Important Cultural Property designation and exists to protect modern-era structures, including civil-engineering works such as bridges, while they remain in everyday service.
Oike No. 2 Bridge was registered under the criterion of being difficult to reproduce. Its scale as the line's longest span, the cylindrical concrete piers, and the pairing of a concrete core with dry-stone wing walls together record the building methods of a private railway in the early Showa period. It is listed together with the nearby Oike No. 1 Bridge over the same pond, the older Nishi No. 2 Bridge to the west, and the inspection shed and platform at Idakiso Station.
What to Look For When You Visit
Riding the line, you cross Oike twice in quick succession, and the second, longer crossing is this bridge. The run of seven spans gives it a noticeably extended profile across the water. From the bank, the cylindrical piers standing in the pond and the dry-stone wing walls flanking the abutments are the features to pick out; the contrast between smooth concrete and stacked stone is plain to see.
The bridge belongs to the 1933 section of a line first opened in 1916 to carry pilgrims toward three shrines along the valley. The route gained international attention after a cat named Tama was made stationmaster at Kishi in 2007, and the themed trains designed by Eiji Mitooka pass over this longest of its bridges on the way to the terminus. A one-day pass lets you ride the full route and see all three registered bridges in a single outing.
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Q&A
- What is special about this bridge?
- At 51 meters across seven spans, it is the longest bridge on the Kishigawa Line. It also combines cylindrical reinforced-concrete piers with dry-stone wing walls at its abutments.
- How is it different from Oike No. 1 Bridge?
- Both cross the same pond and use seven-meter I-beams, but No. 2 is longer, at 51 meters and seven spans, while No. 1 is 36 meters and five spans. They were built together in 1933.
- What is a dry-stone wing wall?
- A wing wall is the angled retaining wall beside a bridge abutment that holds back the embankment. Here those walls are built of stone stacked without mortar, alongside a reinforced-concrete core.
- How can I see it?
- Ride the Kishigawa Line across it, or view it from public ground near Oike. As a working railway bridge, it should not be approached on the track or within railway property.
Basic Information
| Name | Wakayama Electric Railway Kishigawa Line, Oike No. 2 Bridge |
|---|---|
| Location | Nagayama, Wakayama City, Wakayama Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (registered 25 April 2014; registration no. 30-0187) |
| Built | 1933 (Showa 8) |
| Count / Scale | 1 structure; steel seven-span girder bridge, length 51 m, single track; girders of 7 m I-beams; cylindrical reinforced-concrete piers, abutments with dry-stone wing walls |
| Owner | Wakayama Electric Railway Co., Ltd. |
| Access | On the Kishigawa Line east of Idakiso Station, crossing Oike. Best experienced by riding across; active railway bridge, do not enter railway property. |
References
- National Database of Designated Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00010036
- Wakayama Electric Railway Co., Ltd. official site
- https://wakayama-dentetsu.co.jp/
- Wakayama Prefecture, railways information
- https://www.pref.wakayama.lg.jp/prefg/020500/tetudou/tamadesu.html
Last verified: 2026.06.22