Shimanto River Chinkabashi

Low submersible bridges spanning Japan's 'last clear-water river,' designed without railings to disappear beneath floodwaters rather than resist them. The 47 chinkabashi along the Shimanto River are iconic symbols of rural Shikoku, and the longest, Iwama Chinkabashi, stretches 196 meters. Canoe tours pass beneath the bridges on waters still clean enough to support giant ayu sweetfish.