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

March 2012 (35.728 Degrees, 139.810 Degrees) Shirahige Bridge

A view of the Shirahige Bridge from Meiji Road. The apartments to the left (the Eastern Shirahige Anti-Disaster Complex) were designed as a kilometer-long solid wall to stop fires and floods. On the right is the Riverside Sumida Central Tower, a 33 story skyscraper designed by the Obayashi Gumi Corporation in 1994.

We are now in Arakawa Ward but the Mukojima Ward is still on the east side of the river. We are close to the Arakawa River, which once flowed between the Sumida's banks, but which was diverted to the east to prevent frequent flooding through downtown Tokyo.

The Shirahige Bridge was designed by Atsushi Masuda near the start of the Showa Era (1925 to 1989). The center span is 260 ft long and the side spans are 147 ft long. It's an interesting bridge and well decorated with objects from Japan's past. For instance, the stone pillar on the far right marks where the home of former prime minister Sanetomi Sanjo once stood. It was moved in 1928 when they began building the present bridge.

In this photo we see traffic waiting at a stop light just west of the bridge with traffic lining up on the bridge.

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