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.

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Passing by Ago Ohashi Bridge on the Scenic Gonokawa River

I continue upriver towards the source...... 

Carrying on up the right/East bank of the Gonokawa River after leaving the red Kurihara Bridge

The former Sanko Line railway runs on this bank. Whereas some bridges have been dismantled, mostly in urban areas, here the small bridge remains...

Roadside altars are commonplace everywhere in Japan.... this one is quite substantial.... as usual someone locally keeps the  flowers replaced....

Quite a few thatched houses with metal covering the thatch...

The last time I walked by here the little gas station was still in business....

Up ahead, the Ago Ohashi Bridge comes into view....

It is a two-truss type...

Built in 1954, it is one of the oldest existant bridges across the Gonokawa...

for a purely stone type, this altar is quite big....

For the first 40k going up river, the river and landscape is quite similar and it can be hard to differentiate where you are from a photo...

Up ahead the top of Mount Sanbe. The highest point in Shimane and a volcano was last active about 4,000 years ago.

The river continues to head towards it for about 4 more kilometers before doing a 180 turn and heading away from it....

The previous post in this series was on the Kurihara Bridge

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Kurihara Bridge over the Gonokawa River

 

Kurihara Bridge is the 13th bridge across the Gonokawa River from the rivermouth in Gotsu on the Sea of Japan.

It is the seond of many that fall within the boundaries of Misato, a large collection of villages and mountains grouped together as a municipality in the mountainous interior of Shimane.

I was here on day 3 of my walk from the mouth of the river to the source. It is about 40-45 kilometers from the start.

The bridge opened in 1976.

It is a simple, two arch type of bridge.

The previous post in this series on my walk up the Gonokawa was on the short stretch between Onbara and here.

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From Onbara to Kurihara Bridge

 

On the third day of my walk up the Gonokawa River towards its source, I have passed through the boundaries of Gotsu City and Kawamoto Town and have entered Misato Town, a huge area of scattered vullages and uninhabited mountains straddling the river for the next few days.

I leave the small settlement of Onbara after visiting its shrine. A very quiet little place that the "main" road along the river bypasses.

It's mid-October and the Goldenrod is in full bloom. It's originally an American plant but since the mid 20th century and spread across Japan. It occupies the same ecological niche as the native Susuki, often referred to as Japanese Pampas Grass. Goldenrod is an invasive species seemingly taking over. In the US, Susuki is an invasive species seemingly crowding out Goldenrod. Balance of a kind I guess.

A narrow lane leads back to the riverbank. Kurihara Bridge is just ahead.

Several roadside altars have some offerings of coins and fresh flowers, and swept clean, attesting to the care given by at least one of the locals....

The previous post in this series was on Onbara Hachimangu, the local shrine.

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