Kintaikyo Bridgeーone of the most famous wooden bridges in Japan

Today I'm going to introduce...

Kintaikyo Bridge Area

The Kintaikyo Bridge is a five-arched bridge over the Nishiki River in Iwakuni City.

In additon,you can white snakes (designated as natural treasure)at a museum near the bridge!

Iwakuni city is in Yamaguchi Prefecture, which is next to Hiroshima prefecture.

In Kintaikyo bridge area, there are several places to go

Kintaikyo Bridge Area | IWAKUNI (iwakuni-city.net)

As soon as I got off the bus, I could see Kintaikyo bridge from the riverside.

History

"In 1673, the lord of the Iwakuni Domain, Hiroyoshi Kikkawa built a wooden bridge, which was to serve as the prototype for the bridge that exists today. Unfortunately, this bridge was soon washed away.

The following year, the bridge was reconstructed with improvements. This bridge retained its majestic appearance for 276 years, until it was carried away by Typhoon Kezia in September 1950.

After it was destroyed, the bridge was rebuilt again as a timber bridge, at the strong request of the local residents. From Heisei 13 (2002), the weakened wooden parts were replaced during a project known as the Heisei Era renovation and were newly constructed from Japanese cypress in March 2004." (http://kintaikyo.iwakuni-city.net/en/summary.html)

The bridge has a surface length of 210 m and a total length of 193.3 m. It is 5 m wide and the piers are 6.6 m tall.

You can cross this bridge and feel how steep the arch is.

When I arrived at the opposite bank, I found that the cherry blossoms were beginning to bloom.

10 min walk from Kintaikyo Bridge will bring you to Kikko Cormorant Training Facility

You can take a close look at the cormorants that are actually used in Cormorant Fishing of Kintaikyo Bridge!

*A photo from http://ukai.iwakuni-city.net/

Cormorant fishing is a fishing method that uses cormorants to catch sweet fish.

On summer nights when the ban on sweetfish fishing is lifted, it is held in Nishiki river at the foot of Kintaikyo Bridge.

According to a record, this cormorant fishing started in the Edo period about 400 years ago.

There is "Iwakuni White Snake Museum" near the facility.

Arrived at " Iwakuni Shirohebi Museum "

Why is this museum in Iwakuni?

"While the origin of the white snake is unclear, it is said that around four centuries ago, white snakes were found in many of Iwakuni’s rice storehouses, preying on mice."

"In Iwakuni, since long ago, this rare snake has been preserved with great care as a household guardian deity, said to bring advantages and good fortune. "

"Environmental changes such as the increasing urbanization of the white snake’s habitat in recent years, and changes in the fauna it preys on, including mice, have led to declining numbers of living white snakes in the wild. Both the public and private sectors of Iwakuni City are striving together to breed and preserve the white snake population." (http://kankou.iwakuni-city.net/itn/natural-treasure-white-snakes-of-iwakuni)

A real white snake with red eyes! cool!

This white snake is a highly rare creature in the world. Although albinism is usually a genetic anomaly limited to a single generation, the Iwakuni white snake has maintained its characteristics through heredity.