Yabakei Bridge (Dutch Bridge)

In 2022, it was designated as a National Important Cultural Property!
~ Nationally designated cultural property databasehere~

This bridge is located downstream of Ao-no-domon and was completed in 1923. It is the only eight-arch stone bridge in Japan and is also the longest stone arch bridge in Japan. It is designated as a tangible cultural property of Oita Prefecture and is counted as one of the 8 most famous bridges in Japan. Along with Bakei Bridge and Rakanji Bridge upstream, it is one of the Three Yabakei Bridges.
Locals call it the Dutch Bridge, which is said to be because, unlike the stone bridges in Oita and Kumamoto prefectures, it uses horizontal stone masonry, which is common in Nagasaki prefecture. It was built for tourism purposes, but it is also said to have served as a key route to the nearby Hijudai.

At the foot of the bridge, a statue of a mother and child frog watches over the bridge, with the words "Welcome, Prosper, Resurrect" carved into their bases.

Type: 8-arch stone bridge, Bridge length: 116.0m, Maximum span: 12.8m, Arch: 3.0m, Designer: Noboru Nagamatsu