AMANOHASHIDATE
Amanohashidate, the bridge to heaven, one of the Three Views of Japan. Amanohashidate is a sand bar covered by pine trees.
Amanohashidate or the "bridge to heaven" which is considered to be one
of Japan's
three most beautiful sights; Three Views of Japan or Nihon Sakei. Amanohashidate is a naturally formed sand
bridge in Miyazu Bay which is covered by 7,000 pine trees. Amanohashidate is
3.6Km long and can be walked across. Amanohashidate is located within the
city of
Miyazu, in the very northern part of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai
region, however it is quite some distance from Kyoto
city.
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How best to See and Photograph Amanohashidate
About the only thing to see in is, well,
Amanohashidate itself. The Amanohashidate land bridge is best viewed
from the hillside on either the south or north side of it. On the
south side, there is a chair lift and cog wheel-type train that one
can ride up to a viewing area, where there is a small amusement
park. On the north side, there is a chair lift and an electric
train/trolley that take visitors up to a viewing area, where there
is a small coffee and snack shop. Purchase tickets at the bottom of
the lifts. They are well-marked and easy to locate.
The canonical way to view Amanohashidate is to turn your back to it,
then bend over and look at it upside down from between your legs â€â€
this is supposed to make the bridge appear as if it floats to
heaven, and bring good luck.
More to do in Amanohashidate
The rotating bridge on the south side of
Amanohashidate is unusual, although it is by no means a must-see.
Rather than raising like a traditional drawbridge, the middle
section of this bridge rotates 90 degrees to allow boats to pass
through. The bridge is located near the Shinto shrine and boats that
transport visitors to the north side of Amanohashidate.
Being a seaside town there are many seafoods available to eat.
Amanohashidate tends to feature a lot of dried squid.
Amanohashidate Access - Train
Direct Hashidate (はしだて) limited expresses run four
times a day and connect Kyoto Station
to Amanohashidate in 106 minutes (Â¥4,310). Alternatively, connect at
Fukuchiyama (福知山) or Nishi-Maizuru (西舞鶴) to the Kita-Kinki Tango
Miyafuku Line (北近畿タンゴ宮福線); you can manage the trip with local trains
for as little as ¥2200, but this will take over three hours and
require several transfers.
The Amanohashidate Station is on a spur line off of the main line to
Miyazu. Don't be surprised as the train stops completely in
Miyazu, changes direction, and then turns
onto a separate line toward Amanohashidate. NOTE: Japan Rail Pass
holders must pay additional surcharges to visit Amanohashidate.
Amanohashidate Transport
The small villages on both the north and south
sides of the land bridge are easily walkable by foot, as distances
are short. In the village of Monju (文珠) on the south side of the
land bridge, the train station is only a few hundred feet from
numerous ryokan, noodle shops, dried fish shops, and tourist shops.
One can rent a bicycle at one of the many bicycle rental shops
around Amanohashidate to ride across the land bridge and bike to
surrounding local tourist spots.
If you prefer motorized transport, small motorboats transport
passengers between the north and south sides of Amanohashidate. The
boats are inexpensive and take 5-10 minutes to travel the length of
the land bridge. On the south side of Amanohashidate, the boats dock
near the Shinto shrine.
(Article
based on
Wikitravel article
by user ChubbyWimbus. Based on work by Peter Southwood, Jani
Patokallio and janelle p., Wikitravel user(s) Tatatabot, Ocean17 and
Janki and Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel. Article used under
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0.) |
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