Kintaikyo Bridge

Why visit

The Nishiki River floods violently after heavy rain, and earlier bridges here were washed away again and again. In 1673, Kikkawa Hiroyoshi, the third lord of Iwakuni, built a bridge with no piers in the middle of the arches, resting on four massive stone piers instead, and it survived for more than 270 years until a typhoon swept it away in 1950. It was rebuilt in 1953, and replaced again, piece by piece, between 2001 and 2004. Walking up and down over its steep wooden arches is a pleasure in any season.

What to see and do

• Crossing the bridge: buy a ticket at the booth and walk over the arches and back. The view from the riverbed below shows off the structure best.
• Kikko Park: the park on the far side, on the site of the lord’s residence, with old samurai houses, museums and about 3,000 cherry trees.
• Iwakuni Castle: a reconstructed castle keep on Mount Shiroyama, reached by a ropeway, with views over the bridge and the Inland Sea.
• The white snakes: Iwakuni is home to a rare white rat snake, protected as a natural monument, which you can see at a small museum near the bridge.
• Cormorant fishing: on summer evenings, fishermen use trained cormorants to catch fish by torchlight below the bridge.

Getting there

Buses run to the bridge from Iwakuni Station, about 20 minutes, and Shin-Iwakuni Station on the shinkansen, about 15 minutes. Iwakuni Station is under an hour from Hiroshima by local train. Read our guide to visiting Kintaikyo and Iwakuni.

Tips

• Buy the combined ticket for the bridge, the ropeway and the castle.
• Late March and early April, during the cherry blossom, is beautiful but very busy.
• The bridge is lit up in the evening.
• Try Iwakuni-zushi, a layered pressed sushi made for the lords of Iwakuni, at restaurants near the bridge. See what to eat in Yamaguchi.