South Nara · TotsukawaNo.1250★★Open in map →

Tanize Suspension Bridge

localOff the trail — and worth it

In a gorge in southern Nara, a steel footbridge hangs between a national road and a hamlet on the opposite slope. The households there paid for most of it, and it is still a residents' route rather than only a viewpoint.

FromYamato-Yagi Station
~3 hrNara Kotsu bus, a few a day
Get off atUenoji (Nara Kotsu Yagi–Shingu bus)
On foot
Tanize Suspension Bridge

Directions ↗

The sweet spot

The bridge is well known inside Japan and sits on the village's own shortlist of sights, so it is not undiscovered. What keeps it from turning into a queue is distance. No train reaches the village, and the bus in is a half-day journey on its own. Most people arrive on that bus, cross during its scheduled break and leave again, which means the deck empties completely between services.

Where it is

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What to look for — in walking order

The Totsukawa riverbedRaita Futo / CC BY 2.0

Uenoji bridge headthe north approach beside the road, with a notice limiting the deck to 20 people at once
The plank deckboards laid across steel cables, with gaps that show the drop between them
The Totsukawa riverbeda wide gravel bed and shallow green water directly below the middle span
Tanize bridge headthe far landing, on a forested slope below the hamlet
Riverside camp groundthe flat ground by the water below the bridge, seen from the deck above

How to actually get there

Yamato-Yagi Station (south side) → Uenoji (Nara Kotsu Yagi–Shingu express bus).
Uenoji stop → north bridge head (a few minutes on foot along Route 168).
Cross to the Tanize side and back, keeping single file where the deck narrows.
From Kansai, reach Yamato-Yagi first on the Kintetsu Osaka or Kashihara lines, or join the same bus at JR Gojo Station.

Nara Kotsu Yagi–Shingu bus from Yamato-Yagi: Yamato-Yagi Station (south side) →(Nara Kotsu Yagi–Shingu express bus, about 3 hours)→ Uenoji. The service runs the length of the gorges to Shingu and takes no reservations. Only a few departures leave each day, so the one you catch sets the whole schedule.
Back north on the same route: Northbound buses toward Yamato-Yagi pass Uenoji in the afternoon and there are only a handful each day, so the last of them decides whether the trip works as a day out. Check the times posted at the stop before you cross.

Directions from my location (Google Maps) ↗

About the place

Totsukawa village has no railway at all. One national road threads the gorges from north to south, and at Uenoji it runs along one wall of the valley while the hamlet of Tanize sits on the other. The bridge between them is 297 metres of steel cable and plank, hung 54 metres above the riverbed. The deck is narrow, floored with boards laid across the cables, and it moves under every step. From the middle the Totsukawa below is a pale band of gravel and shallow water, and the far end lands in forest rather than in a car park.

How to enjoy it

The Yagi–Shingu bus takes a break of about twenty minutes at Uenoji, which is enough to cross and come back if you do not linger in the middle. To take the bridge without a deadline, get off and wait for a later service, but check first how many run that day. Wind is the variable: the deck swings hardest in the open middle section.

Background & history

The bridge was completed in 1954, built with the village's cooperation but paid for mainly by the households of Tanize themselves. It was the longest footbridge of its kind in Japan when it opened, and among bridges built for everyday use it still holds that place. The deck was never meant for traffic: bicycles and motorbikes are barred, with residents and the postal service the only exceptions. What crosses it now is what crossed it then — people on foot.

Before you go

Cash: There is no station here and no large shop. Carry cash for the souvenir stand at the bridge head and bring your own water; the next shops are a long way down the valley.
Good to know: The bridge is fully exposed. In strong wind the deck moves a great deal and crossing becomes hard work, and the view through the gaps is straight down. There is no alternative crossing at this point.
Another way: From the Kansai side, JR Gojo Station is also on the same bus route and closer to Uenoji than Yamato-Yagi. By car, Route 168 runs past the bridge head, where the village keeps a small car park.
After you get off: The Uenoji stop sits on Route 168 within a few minutes' walk of the north bridge head, and the bridge is in sight from the road.