Usui Daisan Bridge (Megane-bashi)
碓氷第三橋梁（めがね橋）
A four-arched brick railway bridge completed in 1893, the largest surviving brick arch bridge in Japan and an Important Cultural Property.
The Usui Daisan Bridge, nicknamed “Megane-bashi” (“Spectacles Bridge”), was built on the former Shin'etsu Main Line between Yokokawa and Karuizawa to cross Usui Pass. It stands about 31 metres high and 91 metres long, and was built with roughly two million bricks. The line was rerouted in 1963, and the bridge was no longer used. In 1993 it became one of Japan's first railway-related Important Cultural Properties. You can climb onto the bridge deck and walk along the old railway trail. From the Usui Pass Railway Heritage Park in Yokokawa, following the “Abt Trail,” it takes about 1.5 hours on foot and passes several tunnels. If you're driving, you can park along the old National Route 18, about 25 minutes from Karuizawa.
Opening hours
Open all day
Nearby sights
- Usui Pass Railway Heritage Park
- Usui Pass Observatory (Miharashidai)
- Kumano Kotai Shrine
- Karuizawa Prince Snow Resort
- Shaw Memorial Chapel
- Yagasaki Park
- Kyu-Karuizawa Ginza
- St. Paul's Catholic Church