Tatara Bridge, Cable-stayed bridge between Ikuchijima, Onomichi and Ōmishima, Imabari, Japan
Tatara Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge on the Nishiseto Expressway between Ikuchijima in Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, and Ōmishima in Imabari, Ehime Prefecture. Its steel towers rise 220 meters in an inverted-Y shape, and the deck has a main span of 890 meters and a total length of 1,480 meters, with a roadway and separate pedestrian and bicycle lanes.
The crossing was first planned as a suspension bridge in 1973. In 1989 the design changed to a cable-stayed bridge with the same span, avoiding a large anchorage excavation inside the Seto Inland Sea National Park. Construction lasted a little over six years and finished without accidents; the bridge opened on 1 May 1999.
The bridge's name comes from the Tatara Strait it crosses. Its inverted-Y towers create a multiple echo called the Tatara Naki Ryu: a loud sound made from the pedestrian walkway reflects off the inner tower faces and seems to climb upward, like the dragon at Nikko Toshogu. A drumstick is placed nearby for visitors to try it.
You can drive across the bridge to enjoy views from above or use the separate pedestrian and cycling paths for a slower experience. Walking or cycling offers a closer perspective on the structure and surrounding seascape.
Stand on the walkway at the towers and clap or shout: the inverted-Y shape reflects the sound upward in a flutter echo called the Tatara Naki-ryū, after the singing dragon of Nikkō Tōshō-gū. A drumstick-like bat is kept nearby for visitors to try it; the effect works only on the walkway, since stopping on the roadway is prohibited.
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