Aya Teruha Suspension Bridge

Little knownBarely documented in English. This is the kind of place the site exists for.

Investigado y escrito por Hinato

Teruha BridgeAyaevergreen forestBiosphere Reservesuspension bridge

Prefectura de Miyazaki · Aya

31.9948°N, 131.2404°E

The bridge is 250 metres long, 1.2 metres wide and 142 metres above the Ayaminami river, which for a long time made it the highest pedestrian suspension bridge in the world and still makes it the second highest in Japan. It moves under you, and the floor has gaps.

What it crosses is the point. Aya holds the largest surviving stand of lucidophyllous evergreen forest in Japan — the broadleaf evergreen forest that once covered warm-temperate East Asia and has been almost entirely cleared — and the town fought the Forestry Agency in the 1960s to stop it being felled for plantation. It is now a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. On the far side a walking trail of about two kilometres runs through the canopy. Entry is ¥350.

Información esencial

Horario

Confirm opening hours before travelling

Cerrado: Closed in high wind and severe weather — confirm before travelling

Entrada

¥350 | Volunteer guides ¥400 per person for 10 or more, ¥500 for 9 or fewer

Mejor temporada

April–May for fresh green | Autumn for colour

Duración de la visita

90 minutes – 2 hours

Cómo llegar

Información de acceso

Minamimata, Aya, Higashimorokata District, in the Kyushu Chuo Sanchi Quasi-National Park. Car recommended; about 1 hour from Miyazaki City. Admission ¥350. The bridge is 250 m long, 1.2 m wide and 142 m above the Ayaminami river. Volunteer guides are available at ¥400 per person for groups of 10 or more and ¥500 per person for 9 or fewer. A walking trail of about 2 km runs through the forest on the far side. The surrounding lucidophyllous evergreen forest is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

Guía privilegiada

**Cross it and keep walking.** The two-kilometre trail on the far side is where the forest actually is. Turning back at the end of the bridge misses the reason it was built. **The forest was nearly logged.** Aya fought the Forestry Agency in the 1960s to stop the evergreen broadleaf stand being replaced with cedar plantation. It is now the largest surviving example in Japan and a Biosphere Reserve. **It moves, and the floor has gaps.** 142 metres up. If heights are a problem this is not a bridge to talk yourself onto. **April to May and autumn.** Fresh growth in spring and scattered colour in autumn are the two recommended windows. **Aya has an organic farming policy.** The town has run one of Japan's longest-standing municipal organic agriculture programmes since the 1980s, and the produce stands and the brewery in town are part of the same story.

Ver en Google Maps