It is said to be the longest suspension bridge in Japan, Ryujin Ohtsuribashi, but I don’t see any reason to build a bridge here. It’s clear that the purpose is to attract tourists. I wonder if there’s anything interesting I can see on the other side of the bridge. Also, the bridge is made of a fairly sturdy steel frame, so there’s no shaking at all and it’s not thrilling at all.
dragon god suspension bridge (1)
dragon god suspension bridge (2)
dragon god suspension bridge (3)
dragon god suspension bridge (5)
The only thrilling thing about the bridge is that you can bungee jump from the middle, but no one was there.
bungee jump entrance in dragon god suspension bridge
The Kyushu suspension bridge, Japan’s second largest, feels more swaying, and on the other side you can touch two white snakes that symbolizes good fortune.
suspension bridge0
suspension bridge6 white snake named toguro
suspension bridge7 white snake named makitsuki
Detour
soba restaurant fujihiro
The road leading to the Ryujin Suspension Bridge is called the Soba Highway. You can enjoy freshly made soba noodles at one of the soba restaurants, Fujihiro. It reminds me of a soba restaurant in Yamagata.
I used to think that suspension bridges were built out of necessity, but seeing this made me realize that they were purposely built in places where they didn’t need to be built, just to make people feel scary. Many people walk on the suspension bridge, which looks just like a wide pedestrian bridge. Although the suspension bridge uses fairly thick wire rope, you can still feel some sway. There is a magnificent waterfall that can only be seen from here, but the scale of the view from the suspension bridge is so large that the waterfall feels small.
Once you cross the suspension bridge, you will see a building that looks like a haunted house at the festival venue. In front of the house, there was a crowd of people who seemed to be hesitating whether to enter or not. This place holds a spectacle where customers can touch and hold white snakes in hopes of attracting financial luck. I was reluctant to enter, but my companion was blinded by financial fortune and we decided to enter.
suspension bridge6 white snake named toguro
suspension bridge7 white snake named makitsuki
When I pay, the thick curtain in front of me opens and I come face to face with two white snakes. One of them is called “Toguro,” which coils itself on my hand, and the other is “Makitsuki,” which wraps around my arm.” No matter who holds them, these snakes maintain the same posture as their namesake, so these must be their favorite poses. The touch was unlike anything I had ever felt before, neither cold nor warm, and I was filled with the desire to return them as soon as possible. In the end, it was the people at the show booths who were lucky to make money.
Detour
Tonight we will be staying at Kiyasuya in Sujiyu Onsen, but Sujiyu Onsen is also home to a famous public bathhouse “Utase-yu.” The name Sujiyu originally came from the fact that the hot spring ingredients are effective for soothing tired muscles, but the public bath is an ultimate hot spring where the hot spring water is dropped from a height of about 3 meters to soothe the body.
