Amanohashidate

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 — 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 (¥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.) | |