Tsujun Bridge

Locally knownKnown to people who live here. Not in the international guidebooks.

Researched and written by Hinato

Tsujun Bridgestone aqueductNational TreasureYamato1854

Photo: Totti / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · original

What sets Tsujun Bridge apart from other natural sites in Kumamoto is how much depends on conditions outside anyone's control.

The plateau at Yabe had no water. In 1854 the village headman Futa Yasunosuke had this built to get it there: a stone arch aqueduct 78 metres long and 21 high, carrying three stone conduits across a gorge under an inverted siphon so that water rises on the far side. It is the largest stone aqueduct in Japan and in 2023 it was designated a National Treasure — the first civil engineering structure in the country to receive that status.

It still works, and it still irrigates about a hundred hectares. Periodically the sluices are opened to clear silt from the conduits and two jets of water blast out of the middle of the bridge in arcs, which is the sight people come for. Discharge days are scheduled and published, and walking on top of the bridge is charged and also restricted.

Plan your visit

Time to allow

60–90 minutes

Hours

Viewing from the park at any time | Discharges on scheduled days only | Bridge deck access restricted

Closed: Discharges do not run daily — check the schedule

Best time to visit

Scheduled discharge days | Spring and autumn for the plateau

Entry fee

Free to view | Charged for walking on the bridge deck

Getting out there

Access notes

Nagahara, Yamato, Kamimashiki District, on the Yabe plateau. Car recommended. Viewing the bridge from the park below is free. Water discharges, when two jets are released from the centre of the aqueduct to clear silt, take place on scheduled days that are announced in advance — check the official Tsujun Bridge site before travelling. Walking on the bridge deck is charged and subject to restrictions. Length about 78 m and height about 21 m.

Local knowledge

**Check the discharge schedule.** The water jets are the reason most people come and they happen only on published days. Without one it is a stone bridge, albeit a National Treasure. **It is a working aqueduct.** Still irrigating about a hundred hectares after 170 years. The discharge is silt clearance, not a show, which is why the dates are set by maintenance rather than tourism. **Walking on top is charged and restricted.** Confirm before assuming you can cross it. Viewing from the park below is free and is the better angle for the jets. **The siphon is the engineering.** Water goes down and comes back up on the far side under pressure, in 1854, built with stone by a village headman. That is why it was designated. **Combine with the Yabe area.** The Seiwa Bunraku puppet theatre and the terraced fields of the plateau are nearby and make a full day.

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