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All Japan Kawazu Kawazu Nanadaru Loop Bridge

Kawazu Nanadaru Loop Bridge

An ingenious solution to a tricky engineering problem, this spiraling bridge takes drivers for a dizzying spin.

Kawazu, Japan

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Kawazu-Nanadaru Loop Bridge.   Captain76/public domain
Kawazu-Nanadaru Loop Bridge.   Fumihiko Ueno/cc by 3.0
Kawazu-Nanadaru Loop Bridge.   FoxyStranger Kawasaki/cc by-sa 3.0
Kawazu-Nanadaru Loop Bridge.   TANAKA Juuyoh/cc by 2.0
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This corkscrew bridge drives locals loopy in the center of Japan’s scenic Izu Peninsula. Completed in 1982 to cover terrain too steep for a conventional road, the bridge is an intriguing landmark on the route from Tokyo to the hot-spring resorts in the nearby city of Shimoda. It rises among the trees like some sort of great coiled snake.

The structure is comprised of three supports that look suspiciously like giant painters’ trestles. It rotates traffic through 720 degrees and lifts or drops them 147 feet (45 meters). The speed limit on this serpentine road is only 18 miles per hour (30 kilometers per hour), which helps to prolong the dizzying views of Izu’s volcanic scenery.

Travelers with more time on their hands can spin off the highway here (although one hopes not literally) to investigate a handful of waterfalls and the delightful Kawazu Village in the shadow of the bridge. There’s a car park underneath the center of the bridge's loops for those wishing to take photographs, or play dizzy dinosaurs.

Related Tags

Transportation Infrastructure Bridges Urban Planning Architectural Oddities Roads Engineering Architecture

Know Before You Go

Take caution while driving on the bridge and be sure to follow the speed limit!

The village of Kawazu is known for its early-blooming cherry blossom trees, making late March or early April a perfect time to visit.

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Edited By

Kerry Wolfe, SomePlaceCool

  • Kerry Wolfe
  • SomePlaceCool

Published

October 30, 2018

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Sources
  • https://www.dangerousroads.org/asia/japan/895-kawazu-nanadaru-loop-bridge-japan.html
  • https://www.amusingplanet.com/2013/02/kawazu-nanadaru-loop-bridge-japan.html
Kawazu Nanadaru Loop Bridge
352-1 Nashimoto
Kawazu
Japan
34.791932, 138.93915
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Kawazu Sakura Festival

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Photo of Kawazu

Kawazu

Japan

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Nearby Places

Kawazu Sakura Festival

Kawazu, Japan

miles away

Usami Kannon-ji

Itō, Japan

miles away

Atami Adult Museum

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Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Kawazu

Kawazu

Japan

Places 2

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