Bandai Bridge

Elegant 1929 steel bridge over the Shinano River, now a symbol of Niigata

Bandai Bridge spans the Shinano River — Japan's longest — at the point where it enters the final stretch before the Sea of Japan. Built in 1929, the six-span steel bridge is one of the most handsome pieces of early 20th-century engineering in northern Japan, and is now a designated Important Cultural Property. Its arching framework looks particularly good photographed from the riverbank at dusk, when the lights reflect off the water.

Walk across for views up and downstream; the surrounding Bandai area on the far bank is Niigata's main commercial and restaurant district. The waterfront walkway along the Shinano between Bandai Bridge and the port is an easy, pleasant hour's walk.

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Bandai Bridge was designated an Important Cultural Property by the Japanese government in 2004 — one of very few modern bridges in Japan to receive this status. It replaced an earlier wooden bridge that had crossed the Shinano at the same point for centuries, and its 1929 art-deco steel arches became the image most associated with Niigata long before the Shinkansen arrived.