Bridge made of Kiso Hinoki aged over 300 years ”Kiso no Ohashi”

Widest wooden bridge in Japan

While walking along Narai Juku, Kiso Bridge, made of hinoki cypress trees, came into sight. The bridge hangs over lush green land, and if you cross it, it will lead you to a park with extending grass. The bridge is 6.5 meters in width, the widest wooden bridge in Japan. Kiso hinoki of more than 300 years old are used. Mitsugu Terasawa, the master carpenter who worked on this bridge (Ikuta Mokuzai Giken Co., Ltd.(会社HP表記通り) greeted us with a smile.

Craftsmanship brought together for the bridge

Terasawa said, ”Only hinoki is used to build this bridge, but in the durability test applying a load of 30t, the height of the bridge lowered by only 7mm.” And it returned to the original height immediately after the test. On hearing this, Nakata felt the strength hinoki possessed. If you look at the bridge from below, each piece of hinoki overlaps intricately to create the arch of the bridge. ”This is the work of true craftsmanship,” Nakata commented as he admired the bridge. Terasawa told Nakata, ”You can find my name written on the central part of the bridge.” Nakata looked up, and there the names of the craftsmen were written in ink, as if it were the emblem of their work.

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1346-3 Narai, Shiojiri City, Nagano Prefecture