From Kasubuchi to Hamahara Bridge

 

I start day 4 of my walk up the Gonokawa River to its source from the same place I ended dsy 3, the defunct Kasubuchi Station.

Not sure of the protocol for naming riverbanks left or right...... but I am sticking to thye right bank as I walk upstream.

At the end of day 3 I was walking directly north, and now early on day 4 I am heading directly south. The river has done a serious horseshoe at Kasubuchi.

The old railway bridge in the photo above has now been dismantled..... The former Sanko Line ran the length of the river from the mouth at Gotsu to Miyoshi in the mountains of Hiroshima..... part of the reason for this walk is to see what changes the loss of the railway has wrought. I miss it.... it was a truly beautiful ride...

As always, no matter where you go in Japan, roadside altars.....

Just up ahead, the first new bridge of the day, the Hamahara Ohashi...

Hamahara, on the opposite bank, was the terminal of the Sanko Line railway until the 1970s, running upriver from Gotsu. From Miyoshi the line ran downriver as far as Kuchiba. The section I will be walking today and tomorrow was not built until the 1970's and then the whole line closed about 50 years later.

It's April 1st, 2022, and the cherry blossoms are already in bloom....

Not sure which species this one is.....

The Hamahara Bridge was built in 1975, and is a double arch construction.

The previous post was on the walk up to Kasubuchi.

If you would like to subscribe by email, just leave your email address in the comments below. It will not be published or made public. I post new content almost every day, and send out an email about twice a month with short descriptions and links to the last ten posts.