Eastern Hokkaido · KushiroNo.1142★★Open in map →

Nusamai Bridge

cultureOff the trail — and worth it

The bridge at the foot of Kushiro's main avenue, with bronze figures of the seasons standing on its piers and the river running straight out towards the Pacific. It is the city's chosen place to watch the sun set, and the walk from the station is flat.

FromKushiro Station (JR Nemuro Main Line)
~15 minWalk from JR Kushiro Sta.
Nusamai Bridge

Directions ↗

The sweet spot

This is Kushiro's postcard, not a find, and everyone in the city knows it. What gets missed is that the bridge works in two directions. At sunset the crowd gathers along the western rail, while the calmer view is from the next bridge upstream, where the figures read as silhouettes against the water.

Where it is

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What to look for — in walking order

From the Nusamai Bridge deckゆずかわしゅうと / CC BY-SA 4.0

Kita-odori avenuethe wide straight street running down from the station to the river
Fisherman's Wharf MOOthe riverside market and dining complex standing at the bridge's northern foot
The four seasons statuesbronze figures on the piers, one season each, read one at a time from the pavement
The downstream viewharbour cranes and the river mouth lined up to the west from the deck
Kusuri Bridgethe next crossing upstream, the vantage that turns the statues into silhouettes

How to actually get there

Kushiro Station → walk straight down Kita-odori toward the river (about 15 min, flat).
Northern foot of the bridge → cross on the western pavement, past the bronze seasons.
South bank → turn and look back at the bridge with the city rising behind it.
Walk upstream to Kusuri Bridge for the silhouette view, then return along Kita-odori.

On foot from JR Kushiro Station: Leave Kushiro Station on the town side and walk straight down Kita-odori to the river, about 15 minutes on flat pavement with no turns to remember. Kushiro Station is the terminus of the Nemuro Main Line, and Senmo Line trains from Abashiri run through to it as well.
Back up Kita-odori to the station: Return the same straight line and allow the same time again. If you stay until the bridge is lit, the walk back is in the dark, so keep to Kita-odori, which is the main road through the centre, rather than cutting through side streets.

Directions from my location (Google Maps) ↗

About the place

The bridge spans the lower Kushiro River, close to where the water widens into the harbour and then the Pacific. It runs 124 metres long and 33.8 metres wide, broad enough that the pavements hold people who have stopped as well as people crossing. Four bronze figures stand on its piers, one for each season, by Funakoshi Yasutake, Sato Churyo, Yanagihara Yoshitatsu and Hongo Shin. They were proposed and paid for by residents rather than by the road authority, which is unusual for sculpture on a Japanese road bridge. At the northern foot sits Fisherman's Wharf MOO, the riverside market complex.

How to enjoy it

Start the walk down from the station in the late afternoon: about 15 minutes, flat the whole way, and take the western pavement, which faces the river mouth. Autumn and winter are when the air is clearest and the colour strongest, and the sun goes down early enough that you are not waiting out the evening for it. Once it is dark the bridge is lit, so the walk back is part of the visit.

Background & history

A bridge has crossed here since 1889, when the first span went over the river under a different name. The first to be called Nusamai followed in 1900, and three more replaced it as the city grew and the timber decks wore out. The present structure, the fifth, was completed in 1976, and the bronze seasons were set on its piers soon afterwards. The name is older than any of the bridges: it is read as coming from the Ainu nusa-o-mai, the place where the ritual altars stand.

Before you go

Cash: The bridge is part of a national road: free to cross, open at any hour, with nothing to buy in order to see it. Cash is only needed for the shops around it, and Kushiro Station and Kita-odori are the practical places to sort that out first.
Good to know: The deck is fully exposed to the wind off the harbour and there is no shelter on it, which in winter matters more than the temperature. Summer on this coast is a foggy season, so the sunset is not a reliable summer plan. After dark the bridge is lit.
Another way: Coming from the Akan or Mashu side, Senmo Line trains run into Kushiro Station, which puts you at the top of the same avenue for the same straight walk down.
After you get off: From Kushiro Station the bridge is directly ahead: Kita-odori ends at the river, and Nusamai Bridge is the crossing in front of you. There are no turns, and the water comes into view for the last stretch.

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