Longest Suspension Bridge in Nasushiobara
Located a 70 minute shinkansen ride from Tokyo the popular tourist spot of Nasushiobara is a picturesque region in Tochigi Prefecture. The city has two main hot spring towns namely Nasu Onsen and Shiobara Onsen. Over the course of our two day visit to the area we had a chance to take in the main sightseeing locales while relishing in the cooler weather that comes with staying on the Nasu plateau.
After picking up a hire car from Nasushiobara Station our first point of call had us heading across to Shiobara Onsen which is famous for a remarkably long suspension bridge spanning the Shiobara Dam. Nasushiobara seems to have a special predilection for suspension bridges as there no less than twelve in the surrounding area. As far as tourist suspension bridges go, this one seems to harmonise reasonable well with the nearby mountains with its green paint picking up hues from the early summer foliage. The 320 metre long Momijidani Suspension Bridge もみじ谷大吊橋 opened in April, 1999 with a staggering 6 USD million construction tag. All is not lost as based on the rather expansive car park and numerous eateries the operators have surely recouped their costs over the intervening years.
Given our slightly off season timing we thankfully had the bridge mostly to ourselves, though even under these circumstances the bridge’s jittery motion makes taking a steady shot rather a challenge. Reaching the opposite side escapes the tourist enclave with a small park and ornamental garden making for a nice lunch setting. The bridge is open throughout the year with a round trip ticket setting you back 300 yen. Like most sightseeing in the area hiring a car would be the best of action course getting out there.
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