Kachidokibashi bridge in central Tokyo, a now largely forgotten tribute to Japan's stunning victory in the Russo-Japanese War over a century ago, today stands as a magnet for tourists hoping to snap panoramic views of the Tokyo Bay waterfront.

Completed 80 years ago, Kachidokibashi in Chuo Ward was once hailed as the greatest drawbridge in Asia. In bygone days, its massive spans were raised five times a day to let large vessels pass.

Until two years ago when Tsukijiohashi opened, it was the nearest bridge to the vast expanse of Tokyo Bay, where some of the nation's most important ports are located.

The bridge is now the 26th structure from upstream among all 27 bridges available for pedestrians over the Sumidagawa river, which flows in eastern Tokyo.

Fifty years have passed since Kachidokibashi's spans were raised for the last time. Its history is now celebrated in a museum on the right bank of a stream beside the bridge. The displays recreate what the bascule bridge looked like and how it functioned.

Kachidokibashi was constructed in 1940, which, according to legend, marked the 2,600th anniversary of the beginning of imperial rule in Japan.

Although Tokyo was supposed to host the Olympic Games and a world fair that year, both events were canceled due to the Second Sino-Japanese War, which was in full swing.

For that reason, the completion of Kachidokibashi was one of the few bits of bright news back then. Its construction followed the main route to the planned world fair venue and the bridge was named after a facility formerly set up at the site to allow people to cross the river in memory of Japan's victory in the 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese War.

The 246-meter-long bridge is now used for pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Its two 50-meter spans, sandwiched by arched sections that keep the bridge in place, could be raised 70 degrees in 70 seconds to allow ships to pass under.

Kachidokibashi helped promote the transportation of goods by water and also attracted hordes of spectators keen to ogle its cutting-edge technologies.

In an essay published a year after the bridge opened, writer Hachiro Sato (1903-1973) stated, "The magnificent bascule bridge sections and flattens the blue sky."

The Kachidokibashi museum was opened in 2005 by the Tokyo metropolitan government within the renovated electrical substation that provided the muscle power to raise the Kachidokibashi spans. On display are the electrical equipment that made it all possible, plus models and design drawings. These are intended to explain the complex technology that went into the mechanisms to raise and lower the spans.

The power generator, motors and a switchboard to supply electricity to the bridge piers are preserved just as they were when Kachidokibashi was operational.

Also on display are the weights used to open and close the bridge spans, as well as the joint parts between those sections.

A 1/100 scale model of Kachidokibashi, complete with flashing lights, recreates what it was like when a vessel passed through. The internal structure of the bridge piers is also recreated in a 1/75 replica.

A panel of photos that offers examples of movable bridges across Japan, including ones that lift, rotate and extend, is also shown.

In peak periods, Kachidokibashi would be raised five times daily. Operations ceased in 1970 as moving goods by truck began to play a more crucial role than water transportation.

"We often receive requests to show the opened bridge," said Hiroshi Tamaki, 69, director of the museum.

But that is unrealistic because huge sums of money and time would be required to upgrade the equipment and other procedures, critics say.

"I want people to visit the museum to feel excited as they figure out how such a large bridge worked at one time," said Tamaki.

The Kachidokibashi museum is within an eight-minute walk of Kachidoki Station on the Oedo Line or Tsukiji Station of Tokyo Metro's Hibiya Line. It is open from 9 a.m. through 4 p.m. between December and February and 9:30 a.m. through 4:30 p.m. for the rest of the year. Closed on Mondays, Wednesdays and Sundays as well as the year-end and new year holidays. Admission is free.