Sanjō Ōhashi is the central bridge across the Kamo River where it crosses Sanjō-dōri, and historically it was the official terminus of the Tōkaidō — the great Edo-period road from Tokyo (then Edo) that took travellers fifty-three days to walk. A small bronze marker on the western abutment commemorates the spot. The current bridge is a 1950 concrete reconstruction with wooden balustrades, faithful to the early-modern design.
The Sanjō bridge is one of the city's defining gathering spots. On the west bank, the statue of Takayama Hikokurō commemorates a roving samurai of the late Edo period; on the east, a long covered shopping arcade runs into the Higashiyama. Below the bridge, the Kamogawa nōryō-yuka dining platforms extend out from the Pontochō restaurants in summer. Cross the bridge late on a summer evening for one of the most characteristic Kyoto scenes.