Anbo Suspension Bridge
- Modification： 2024/01/10
- Area: anbou
The bridge spanning Anbo River used to be of the suspension variety. That suspension bridge was managed by the local forest service office. Its construction began in October of 1929 (Shōwa 4), and it was completed exactly one year later. It was 100 meters in length, four meters in width, and was built at a cost of just 50,000 yen (approx. 500 USD), which would be about 38 million yen in today’s money (approx. 327,000 USD) (Public Records, Bank of Japan. 2020).
To help make the anchor for the wire rope used during the bridge’s construction, about 300 students from Awaho Elementary School were recruited to gather rocks and stones from the nearby Urahama beach.
Upon completion of this bridge, traffic to, from, and through Anbo became much, much more simple and free for the residents of Yakushima, whose resulting happiness was almost beyond description. From the horseback times of its completion until its demolition in June of 1975 (Shōwa 50), this bridge graced Anbo as a symbol of technological and infrastructural advancement for 45 long years.
