It’s winter and it’s a nice time to walk along frozen lakes. One of the lakes here in Hokkaido that you can traverse by foot is the Nukabira Lake. Most of the people who go to the lake camp there to do some ice fishing. But today, we went there not to do ice fishing but to see the Taushubetsu Bridge.

It was not easy walking along the frozen lake to reach the Taushubetsu Bridge. Some parts are slippery and some are covered with thick snow. After walking for more than an hour, and more than 3 km from the parking are, we reached the bridge.

 

Located in Kamishihoro, Taushubetsu Bridge are actually concrete arches of the ancient Shihorosen railway. This elevated railway bridge became the very first site assigned as Hokkaido Heritage. The Shihorosen line was opened in 1926 for the transport of agricultural crops and wood resource transport. It was closed in 1987 due to development of automobile transportation.

The Taushubetsu Bridge is also called “phantom bridge” as the bridge sometimes is completely covered with water as the level of the water in the lake drastically rises. I have seen the bridge in spring and autumn, but not yet when it was submerged under water.

After taking some pictures, it was time to go. We need to walk again on the top of the frozen lake for another 3 and a half km to go back to the parking area.