Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Komagata Bridge across the Sumida River (2)

June 2011 (35.708 Degrees, 139.797 Degrees) Komagata Bridge

Continuing up the Sumida River to the Komagata Bridge. This is another three span steel arch bridge, but with a tied arch for the center span and deck arches for the side spans. The bridge was completed in 1927. It is 480 feet long by 75 ft wide with six traffic lanes and wide sidewalks. The concrete piers include round turrets at the ends for gazing out at the river or for resting. The bridge was named after the nearby Matsugata Temple which was dedicated to the goddess of horses ('koma' is Japanese for horse). On the east bank is the popular Asahi Beer Hall and the 'Asahi Flame,' both designed by Phillippe Starck.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Komagata Bridge across the Sumida River (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Umaya Bridge across the Sumida River (2)

June 2011 (35.704 Degrees, 139.795 Degrees) Umaya Bridge

A closer look at the Umaya Bridge. Note the interesting top cross-bracing that supports every other hanger. The lamps mounted on the hangers are pretty. The white railing with lacy posts are also nice. Under the bridge we can see the floor beams and the arches supported by the concrete caissons.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Umaya Bridge across the Sumida River (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Umaya Bridge across the Sumida River (1)

June 2011 (35.704 Degrees, 139.795 Degrees) Umaya Bridge

Continuing up the Sumida River we come to the Umaya Bridge. It is another wide, three span tied arch roadway bridge. However, unlike the skinny arches on the Sobu Railway Bridge, these arch ribs are deeper than the girders.

Ferry's used to cross at this point in the river until the first bridge was built here in 1875. The Umaya Bridge was named after the Shogun's horse stables that were just north of the bridge. The old bridge was replaced with the current one (by the City) after the 1923 earthquake.

This bridge has some nice architectural details such the big, ribbed newels at the ends (with stained glass windows on top) and the cross-bracing which consists of haunched girders between the arches and a laced arch connecting them. The giant Del Monte (canned vegetables) sign above the building on the west bank is another nice detail.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Umaya Bridge across the Sumida River (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Kuramae Bridge across the Sumida River (2)

June 2011 (35.701 Degrees, 139.793 Degrees) Kuramae Bridge

Another view of the Kuramae Bridge. Perhaps it is the broad width of the bridge that Sumiko Enbutsu found overwhelming in her book "The Sumida Crisscross." Round cutwaters are on both sides of the piers. Purely decorative or is the river subject to reversing currents with the tides? Whenever I visit Tokyo, I try to go on a canoe trip along its canals and rivers, but I've never noticed much of a current.

In the Google Earth View below, we get a better idea of this part of the Sumida River. The elevated Metropolitan Expressway is on the East Bank. Note the attractive pathway along the West Bank. Unfortunately, this path comes and goes without much warning, leaving you stranded.

The expansion joints are clearly visible on the Google Earth Photo. The current view is from 2009. However, a nice feature of Google Earth is that earlier photos are also available. For instance a photo from 1997 is also available just by clicking on the date in the box. The availability of bridge photos and text (and 'Street View') in Google Earth is rapidly making my blog obsolete!

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Kuramae Bridge across the Sumida River (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Kuramae Bridge across the Sumida River (1)

June 2011 (35.701 Degrees, 139.793 Degrees) Kuramae Bridge

Just upstream of the Water Line Bridge is the golden, three span Kuramae deck arch bridge. All the bridges in this area go under the Metropolitan Expressway along the river's east bank. Perhaps infrastructure is such a vital part of Tokyo's survival that no one minds having an viaduct blocking their view of the river.

The Kuramae Bridge was built in 1927 and is 570 ft long and 70 ft wide. It includes six traffic lanes and wide sidewalks. Big stone piers support the arches and the bridge decks. The book "The Sumida Crisscross" writes about nostalgic lamp posts, the granite piers, and alcoves on the bridge illustrated with drawings of Sumo wrestlers. The Sumo Arena is just a quarter mile south by the Sobu Rail Bridge. The author goes on to say that the massive bridge structure overwhelms the viewer. To my eye the bridge appears quite light and attractive and I particularly like the stone piers. I read that the bridge was painted the color of golden ears of rice because the west side of the Kuramae Bridge was the location of the Asakusa rice granaries of the Tokugawa shogunate.

After the devastating 1923 earthquake, mayor Goto Shimpei rebuilt this part of Tokyo with new parks and with iron and steel bridges. The bridges included the Kototoi (1928), the Azuma (1931), the Komagata (1927), the Kiyosiu (1928), and the Kuramae. The problem was that the former bridges were made of timber and caught fire after the earthquake. To protect Tokyo from future disasters, the use of timber structures was discouraged.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Kuramae Bridge across the Sumida River (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Water Line Bridge across the Sumida River

June 2011 (35.700 Degrees, 139.793 Degrees) Water Line Bridge

The next bridge upstream across the Sumida River is a continuous three span, steel through girder bridge carrying a big water pipe. It is supported on concrete pier walls and is purely utilitarian in appearance. Apparently this bridge is so unimportant that it doesn't even have a name. It's main attribute is that it partially obstructs the view of the Kuramae Bridge that we will visit tomorrow.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Water Line Bridge across the Sumida River by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Sobu Rail Line across the Sumida River (2)

June 2011 (35.6966 Degrees, 139.7899 Degrees) Sobu Rail Line Bridge

Continuing up the Sumida River we arrive at the Sobu Rail Line Bridge. This structure has deep girders and skinny arch ribs for the center span. This arrangement, with the arch only for axial compression while the girders resist moment, shear, and axial tension is called a Langer arch bridge. It was completed in 1932 and carries many trains a day so it must be a successful design. The main span is almost 100 m long. The bridge carries the Sobu Rail Line between Asakusabashi and Ryogoku Stations. In this photo the Metropolitan Expressway is along the river's east bank and Tokyo's Sky Tree is becoming more visible.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Sobu Rail Line Bridge across the Sumida River (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Ryogoku Bridge across the Sumida River (2)

June 2011 (35.694 Degrees, 139.789 Degrees) Ryogoku Bridge

Our previous look at the Ryogoku Bridge (from the blog of June 3rd, 2009) was of a photo taken 20 years ago from a bus on the Shuto Expressway. In that photo the girders were painted turquoise and the railing was magenta. Today's blog has a photo taken last Summer when they were getting ready to repaint the bridge.

The Ryogoku Bridge was built in 1969 in a kind of Art Deco Style.  It is a 330 m long three span steel plate girder arch bridge with a 89 m. long center span. The Shuto Expressway crosses above the east abutment.

The river's current becomes complicated at this point as the Sumida is on a curve and the Kanda canal empties into the river at the bridge. Ryogoku means "bridge to connect two countries" because Shimousa Province is along the east bank and Musashi Province is on the west bank.

The Ryogoku area is the home of Sumo wrestling, restaurant boats, fireworks displays, and other entertainments.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Ryogoku Bridge across the Sumida River (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo Japan's Bridges: Shuto Expressway across the Sumida River

June 2011 (35.691 Degrees, 139.789 Degrees) Shuto Expressway

After crossing the Sumida River just before the Kiyosu Bridge, the Metropolitan (or Shuto) Expressway follows the west bank of the river for over mile before crossing back to the east bank.

Some photographers make this expressway seem beautiful and alive, especially after dark. Part of it is due to the cult of the street racers who enjoy driving this expressway in custom cars capable of going over 300km/hr. I'm afraid this photo hardly does justice to the adrenaline rush that this expressway can generate. One particular photographer who's work I enjoy is Takahiro Yamamoto who makes this bridge into a work of art.

Note the oddly-shaped piers that support two or three separate connector ramps. In the hands of photographers like Yamamoto, these piers become high-tech wonders.

Tokyo Japan's Bridges: Shuto Expressway across the Sumida River by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Shin Ohashi across the Sumida River (2)

June 2011 (35.688 Degrees, 139.792 Degrees) Shin Ohashi

The tower legs on the Shin Ohashi are located closer to the east end of the bridge (the spans are 105 m and 65 m). The cables are in a harp arrangement that reach to the end of the bridge on the east side but only to midspan on the west side. The tower legs are securely attached to the steel box girders, but the girders are pinned to the supports. There is a concrete caisson supporting the pinned bearings and tower legs but it looks like it has been exhaustively injected with epoxy grout, maybe due to being struck by a boat? The bridge deck widens considerably around the tower legs to allow for a much bigger sidewalk for pedestrians to look at the river and to look at images and memorabilia of the former bridges at this site.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Shin Ohashi across the Sumida River (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Shin Ohashi across the Sumida River (1)

June 2011 (35.688 Degrees, 139.792 Degrees) Shin Ohashi

As we continued up the Sumida River, we passed by the mouth of Onagi Canal, filled with reminders of an older Japan. Past the canal is the Shin Ohashi, a cable-stayed bridge that was completed in 1977.

It seems like color must be significant for bridges in Japan. We just passed the dark blue Kiyosu Bridge, the aquamarine Sumidagawa Bridge, and the white Chuo Bridge. It seems like each bridge gets its own special color.

This is the third reincarnation of the Shin Ohashi. The original bridge was a timber structure built in 1693 and immortalized in a woodblock print by Hiroshige. The second Shin Ohashi was an iron bridge built in 1885. That bridge survived the Kanto Earthquake and provided protection from air raids during WWII. These older bridges are shown in bas-reliefs on the cable towers (along with a newel post from the iron bridge).

The current Shin Ohashi is 560 ft long, 80 ft wide, and with two 130 ft tall monolithic tower legs (each supporting just two cables). This bridge must have been an exercise in minimalism.

We'll take a closer look at this interesting bridge tomorrow.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Shin Ohashi across the Sumida River (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Kiyosu Bridge across the Sumida River (2)

June 2011 (35.682 Degrees, 139.792 Degrees) Kiyosu Bridge

Here's a closer look at the Kiyosu Bridge. The towers are short and supported on pinned bearings. 'Spined' box girders carry the suspension link forces between the ends of the bridge. The bridge functions like a continuous prestressed girder with the suspension links performing the role of the prestressing tendons.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Kiyosu Bridge across the Sumida River (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Kiyosu Bridge across the Sumida RIver (1)

June 2011 (35.682 Degrees, 139.792 Degrees) Kiyosu Bridge

Continuing upstream on the Sumida River we arrive at a three span self-anchored suspension bridge. The Kiyosu Bridge is another steel structure built after the Great Kanto Earthquake. It was completed in 1928, it's 183 m long, and 22 m wide (according to the Structurae Website).

Self-anchored suspension bridges are uncommon but several have been built in Japan (For instance, the Konohana Bridge in Osaka Bay from my blog of June 11, 2009). However, the Kiyosu Bridge is of an older style with steel links instead of cables. It must be an attractive choice, similar to an arch, when you need a medium length bridge but you don't want to build costly anchors. This bridge must have members under the deck, only to carry compression rather than the tension of a tied arch.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Kiyosu Bridge across the Sumida River (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Sumidagawa Ohashi across the Sumida River

June 2011 (35.679 Degrees, 139.789 Degrees) Sumidagawa Ohashi

I must apologize for interrupting our forward progress for a temporary diversion back in Tokyo Bay. We now continue our journey up the Sumida River from the previously studied Eitai Bridge (seen in the background) to the double-deck (triple-deck?) Sumidagawa Ohashi, which carries the ubiquitous Metropolitan Expressway Viaduct back and forth along the Sumida like some parasitic growth continually blocking our view of the river and its bank.

An enemy to the enjoyment of urban life is the expressway that rushes commuters in and out of the area on ugly structures. Why is it that the elevated railway celebrates urban life while the elevated expressway denigrates it?

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Sumidagawa Ohashi across the Sumida River by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: South of Tsukishima Island

June 2011 (35.637 Degrees, 139.756 Degrees) Rainbow Bridge On and Off Ramps

I recently purchased a nicely illustrated book, "The Sumida Crisscross," from AbeBooks in Windermere, UK. I was pleased to obtain this almost new edition for only $40 after seeing it for sale on Amazon.com for $2000!  It even includes a dedication and signature by the author (Sumiko Enbutsu) to 'Lady Julia.'

I've bought many books on bridges, often to gain information for this blog. I wonder if I can bequeath all of these books to library somewhere or maybe nobody will want books anymore..

"The Sumida Crisscross" nicely describes the evolution of the Sumida River from a tidal estuary, to the home of the Shogun, to a floating pleasure world, to a polluted channel, to the center of Japan. The book was commissioned by an organization of Sumida River advocates (Sumida Link) and includes nine maps for different two to three hour walking trips across various river crossings.  I had to go to the end of the book to find our previous blog location, cruising up the Sumida River towards the Eitai Bridge.

Note that the previously viewed Aioi Bridge is across the Harumi Canal that was formed by the artificial islands built on the east side of the Sumida River. St Luke's (on the west side of the river) was included in my blog of June 21, 2011. Also note the many red gates that control access from the canals to the Sumida. I became familiar with them on a recent canoe trip with Masa-san who runs Paddlefreaks. We planned to paddle in a long figure eight along the canals in Tokyo but we were abruptly halted by one of these red gates and had to turn back.

Today's photo takes us back to the beginning of our journey up the Sumida River at the Rainbow Bridge Ramps, the blue Kounan highway bridge, and the Shinkansen Bridge. All of these bridges cross over the Keihinunga Canal just south of Tsukishima Island in Tokyo Bay. Of special interest is the Minato-ka Garbage Plant (with its multicolored smokestack) where much of Tokyo's trash is incinerated. These incinerators burn at extremely high heat and are a good way for a country without a lot of land to get rid of its garbage. The splendid Japanese author Haruki Murakami suggests a rather sinister use for these incinerators in his latest novel '1Q84.'

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: South of Tsukishima Island by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Eitai Bridge across the Sumida River

June 2011 (35.676 Degrees, 139.788 Degrees) Eitai Bridge

Continuing up the Sumida River we arrive at the Eitai Bridge.  Originally a timber structure that was built in 1696, the Eita Obashi was immortalized in woodblock prints by Utagawa Hiroshige (歌川広重) but it was destroyed during the 1923 Kanto earthquake. Kawasaki Construction replaced it with the current high-strength steel structure in 1926. It is a 606 ft long by 72 ft wide three span bridge with a steel tied arch for the center span.

Tokyo's Sky Tree Tower can be seen in the distance. This is one of Tokyo's most iconic structures, appearing in almost every photo along this portion of the Sumida River. Tokyo Sky Tree (東京スカイツリー Tōkyō Sukai Tsurī) is 2,080 ft tall, making it the tallest tower in the world and the second tallest structure (after Buri Khalifi at 2,723 ft).

 This location used to be the mouth of the Sumida River before the many artificial islands effectively pushed Tokyo Bay farther downstream.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Eitai Bridge across the Sumida River by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Aioi Bridge across the Sumida River

June 2011 (35.667 Degrees, 139.789 Degrees) Aioi Bridge

Another look at the Aioi Bridge, a four span through truss. Just behind it is the Harumi Big Bridge and several other interesting bridges down the canal on the east side of Tsukishima Island. I never got a chance to photograph these bridges (and many other canal bridges) so I'll have to wait for my next trip to Japan (hopefully, unrelated to any earthquake).

One of the nice things about the Aioi Bridge is that one of its piers sits on the island (or peninsula) of Nakanojima Park (on the left side of the bridge). I assume it's a peninsula since how else could anyone get to it?  It's quite a nice park with gardens and a promenade. Another interesting thing about this bridge is it's a skewed truss. I think skewed truss bridges are bizarre because to accomodate the skew, they have to remove the obtuse corner of the end truss panels. In my office we have spent years trying to understand why skewed bridges behave so strangely without much success.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Aioi Bridge across the Sumida River by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo Japan's Bridges: Aioi and Chuo Bridges across the Sumida River

June 2011 (35.671 Degrees, 139.786 Degrees) Aioi and Chuo Bridges

Looking south on the Sumida River is the Aioi Bridge (on the left) that connects Tsukishima to Koto and the Chuo Bridge (on the right) that connects Tsukishima to Chuo. This part of Tokyo is ringed with artificial islands and the dozens of bridges that connect them.

Tokyo Japan's Bridges: Aioi and Chuo Bridges across the Sumida River by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Chuo Bridge across the Sumida River (3)

June 2011 (35.672 Degrees, 139.784 Degrees) Chuo Bridge

One last look at the Chuo Bridge. There are sixteen cables threaded through a steel box-like element between the two tower legs. The design is simple but elegant.

Each bridge across the Sumida River has its own color scheme. The Chuo Bridge is distinctive with a white tower and blue girders. I've noticed that a bridge's colors are often chosen to match or complement the buildings around it.

This series of blogs is based on my exploration of the rivers and canals around Tokyo. We are currently traveling up the Sumida River.  When we reach the Arakawa we'll travel downstream until we arrive back at Tokyo Bay. Walking along the Arakawa is easy because there is a broad footpath that goes under every bridge. Walking along the Sumida River is more difficult because the footpath constantly appears and disappears, sometimes with big industrial areas you must walk around in order to return to the river.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Chuo Bridge across the Sumida River (3) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Chuo Bridge across the Sumida River (2)

June 2011 (35.672 Degrees, 139.784 Degrees) Chuo Bridge

A closer look at the Chuo Bridge. The cables are in a fan arrangement of two parallel rows. The cables go through holes the middle of the tower and are anchored to the outer edges of the bridge deck. The tower legs are supported on a wide concrete caisson and go through pedestrian viewing areas in the deck. The two spans are unbalanced with the tower much closer to the west end of the bridge.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Chuo Bridge across the Sumida River (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Chuo Bridge across the Sumida River (1)

June 2011 (35.672 Degrees, 139.784 Degrees) Chuo Bridge

Continuing up the Sumida River we come to the Chuo Bridge. It is the last bridge connecting Tokyo to Tsukishima, an artificial island. All along Tokyo Bay are hundreds of these islands. Hopefully, the soil is well compacted and will perform well when the next big earthquake strikes Tokyo.

This is a two span cable-stayed bridge that is 692 ft long, 79 ft wide, and built in 1994. The tower is composed of two legs that slope toward each other until they join near the top, and then slope away. This gives the bridge a traditional Japanese appearance in a very modern structure.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Chuo Bridge across the Sumida River (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Tsukuda Bridge across the Sumida River (2)

June 2011 (35.668 Degrees, 139.781 Degrees) Tsukuda Bridge

A look from under the deck of yesterday's Tsukuda Bridge. This bridge appears to be well constructed and well maintained. It's surprising that the girder sections were assembled with rivets in 1964. The steel ties on the Kachidoki Bridge used a single steel bearing but the wide girders on the Tsukuda Bridge use two steel bearings at each support.

Every highway bridge in Japan was retrofitted after the 1995 Kobe earthquake, but I didn't notice any modifications to the Kachidoki or the Tsukuda Bridge. Maybe they were found not to need a retrofit, although most of these brittle steel bearings have been replaced with neoprene pads. Also, Japanese bridge engineers are lucky they can drain rain water from their decks directly into the river. Environmental law in the United States requires that all the rain water on the deck must be carried to a wastewater treatment plant. 

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Tsukuda Bridge across the Sumida River (2) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Tsukuda Bridge across the Sumida River (1)

June 2011 (35.668 Degrees, 139.781 Degrees) Tsukuda Bridge

About a half mile upstream from the Kachidoki Bridge is the Tsukuda Bridge. It has a three span continuous double box girder superstructure on hammerhead pier walls. The bridge was completed in 1964 and (like the Kachidoki Bridge) connects Tsukiji on the left to the human-made Tsukishima Island on the right.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridge: Tsukuda Bridge across the Sumida River (1) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Kachidoki Bridge across the Sumida River (7)

March 2012 (35.662 Degrees, 139.775 Degrees) Kachidoki Bridge

A view of the large sidewalk on the outside of the hangers on the Kachidoki Bridge. Also (shown below) is another freize of the bascule spans, but now they are in the fully open position.

Tokyo, Japan's Bridges: Kachidoki Bridge across the Sumida River (7) by Mark Yashinsky is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.