By KAZUNORI HAGA/ Staff Writer
April 1, 2025 at 08:00 JST
After repair work, the Harimayabashi bridge reopens to the public in Kochi on March 13. (Kazunori Haga)
KOCHI--The Harimayabashi bridge here, considered one of the three most disappointing sightseeing spots in Japan, has reopened to the public after repair work.
Inspired by a real bridge from the Edo Period (1603-1867), the city government built the Harimayabashi bridge in 1998.
It has been cherished among locals as one of the best sightseeing places in the Kochi prefectural capital.
But for many Japanese travelers, the bridge has been considered underwhelming largely because of its surprisingly short length of 8.1 meters.
And 26 years after it was built, the bridge was falling into disrepair.
Renovation work started in October last year to replace the bridge’s floorboards with new cedar boards, repaint the railings and fix other parts.
But the Harimayabashi bridge was not lengthened.
Still, workers are encouraged by the repairs.
“Now that it has become new and easier to cross, we also want local people to revisit the bridge,” said a worker from a gardening company that took charge of the repair work.
A peek through the music industry’s curtain at the producers who harnessed social media to help their idols go global.
A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry
Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors.
Cooking experts, chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life.
A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II
