Amakusa Five Bridges was added to Your Favorites!
Unzen-Amakusa NP, Kumamoto
Claim this place to tell your story your way.
In 1936, prefectural assemblyman Mori Jishu proposed building bridges to Amakusa—an idea dismissed as a “dream.” He kept campaigning, including 12 years as an unpaid town mayor, until the bridges opened in 1966.
Tenmon Bridge’s 300-meter main span made its continuous-truss design the world’s largest of its type when completed in 1966. The full bridge is 502 meters long and rises 42 meters above the water.
The bridges quickly changed how visitors reached Amakusa: reported visitor numbers rose from 540,000 in 1965, before the 1966 opening, to more than 2 million in 1967. A ferry-dependent trip had become a road journey.
Since 1973, the Pearl Line has hosted a health-focused community run with the welcoming motto, “Slow runners are the stars.” At its 45th race in 2017, more than 4,600 runners took to the route.
The route was planned as a toll road with 39 years to repay its costs—but it took only 9 years. After opening in 1966, the bridges became toll-free in 1975, far sooner than expected.
“Amakusa Pearl Line” nods to the pearl farming once thriving along this stretch of coast. The names used for the five individual bridges were chosen through a public contest, too.
The red Matsushima Bridge, the fifth of the route, was Japan’s first full-scale pipe-arch bridge. Its arch spans 126 meters—a striking bit of engineering against the sea and island scenery.
Ooyano Bridge, number 2, has a 156-meter main span. It was Japan’s first Langer-truss bridge to exceed 150 meters—a technical milestone tucked into one of the route’s island crossings.
The five bridges weren’t built to one template. Engineers considered seabed geology, ship channels, construction methods, cost, weather and appearance, producing a route with trusses, concrete frames and a pipe arch.
At 510 meters, Maeshima Bridge is the longest of the five. Its low height over the water was intentional: the design was meant to let people crossing enjoy the scenery.
The bridges opened on September 24, 1966, while Typhoon 24 was affecting the region. The ceremony beside Tenmon Bridge went ahead in strong wind and rain—a memorable, soggy start for the island-linking route.
