Japan’s Railway Enthusiasts' Dream Spot — “Tadami Line Iron Bridge,” a Winter Wonderland

Text and photos byKavanah

The Tadami Line. For anyone who loves Japan, photography, or trains, it’s a legendary dream destination. In the past, we could only marvel at the works of photography masters online, but this winter, I finally seized the opportunity to witness the breathtaking scenery in person... I’ll never forget the moment I climbed up to the observation deck and looked down at the First Tadami River Iron Bridge — I literally held my breath and couldn’t help but let out an heartfelt sigh of awe...
“It’s so beautiful.” Really, I’m not kidding.

Before setting off, I searched online for transportation info about the Tadami Line and found that there was very little information available in Taiwan. After searching for ages, I still couldn’t find where the best photography spots were. Fortunately, I switched to using my (admittedly sharp?) Japanese skills to search in Japanese, which led me to helpful posts from enthusiastic Japanese netizens. That’s how I confirmed the locations and how to get there. To be honest, for someone like me who’s visited all 100 of Japan’s famous castles and many hard-to-reach places, the Tadami Line is actually much easier than I expected — the transportation isn’t difficult at all. Here's a brief introduction:

Transportation / Travel Methods:
Get off at Aizu-Miyashita Station on the Tadami Line. From there, head toward National Route 252. Walk along Route 252 for about 20 minutes to reach “Michi no Eki Ooashi, Shokudo Mishima-yado.” Next to “Michi no Eki Ooashi, Shokudo Mishima-yado,” there’s a walking trail leading to the Tadami Line photography spot. Just follow the signs and you’ll get there. I’d say the route itself isn’t difficult — the biggest challenge is: “time.” The Tadami Line has very few trains, so if you want to photograph a train passing over the First Tadami River Iron Bridge, here’s the ideal itinerary I recommend:

Depart from Aizu-Wakamatsu Station at 6:01 AM, arriving at Aizu-Miyashita Station at 7:37 AM. From there, take your time walking to the “Tadami River Viewpoint Trail” next to “Michi no Eki Ooashi, Shokudo Mishima-yado.” Climb up to the photography point, and around 9:10 AM, you can capture two trains passing by: one headed for Aizu-Kawaguchi and the other typically going to Aizu-Wakamatsu. Then walk back to Aizu-Miyashita Station and take the 1:00 PM train back to Aizu-Wakamatsu. The whole trip takes about seven hours~
At first, I worried that the long gaps between trains would leave me with nothing to do after shooting. But in reality, after photographing the train, I had a great time wandering around, enjoying the beautiful scenery, and taking more photos. Time flew by — I almost missed the 1:00 PM train back to Aizu-Wakamatsu~

Timetable of the Tadami Line at Aizu-Wakamatsu Station — as you can see, the service is very infrequent~

The 6:01 AM train departs while it’s still dark outside, and the moon is still high in the sky~

The scenery along the way — the views along the Tadami Line are truly gorgeous. To be honest, even if you don’t go to the Tadami River Iron Bridge, just the snowy landscapes you see from the train are stunning enough to leave you speechless.

This is the view when the train passes the star of the show — the First Tadami River Iron Bridge.

The train arrives at “Aizu-Miyashita” Station, and I was the only passenger getting off~

“Aizu-Miyashita” Station turned out to be larger than I expected, so after photographing the train, you can come back here to rest — you won’t be left without a place to go.

At this moment, the train bound for Aizu-Wakamatsu also pulled in. The Tadami Line is a single-track railway, so trains going in opposite directions have to pass each other at major stations before continuing.

At Aizu-Miyashita Station, there were many students heading to Aizu-Wakamatsu when I arrived. When the train to Aizu-Wakamatsu pulled in, they all got on, leaving me all alone......

Using Google Maps on my phone, I navigated toward my target: “Michi no Eki Ooashi, Shokudo Mishima-yado.”

Along the way, there wasn’t a single pedestrian — only cars speeding by. All I had for company were the snowscapes and the beautiful views. I really love the solitary beauty of walking alone through deep snow in winter — it was genuinely joyful.

After climbing up the slope, you’ll see National Route 252. Then just keep following Route 252, and you’ll come across “Ooashi, Shokudo Mishima-yado.”

Normally a fast walker, I took my time this day because I had plenty of time. Starting from Aizu-Miyashita, it took me about 30 minutes, and I arrived at “Michi no Eki Ooashi, Shokudo Mishima-yado” around 8:30 AM.

Next to “Michi no Eki Ooashi, Shokudo Mishima-yado” is the “Tadami River Viewpoint Trail” leading to the photography spot. There are three viewpoints — B, C, and D — which aren’t far apart, but with the deep snow in winter, they’re quite tough to climb.

The entrance to the “Tadami River Viewpoint Trail”...... If you don’t look carefully, you might miss the path entirely. Before climbing, make sure to put your camera away and wear gloves, because you’ll really need to use your hands and feet to get up there~

From the trailhead to Photography Point B is a short walk. I climbed for about five minutes and arrived at the first viewpoint, B.

The moment I looked down from there is something I’ll never forget — I even had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.....

It’s the Tadami Line, the legendary Tadami Line Iron Bridge — the hidden gem among hidden gems, the No. 1 railway photography spot in Eastern Japan. And now, at this very moment, I was standing there, alive, exhilarated, and utterly captivated.

After shooting for about ten minutes at Photography Point B, I noticed something was off — the photos online showed a more complete and clearer reflection of the iron bridge on the water’s surface. So I decided to head higher up to Photography Points C and D.

The higher I climbed, the tougher it got. The snow was so deep that I couldn’t climb without holding onto the chains.

This is the view from photography spot C, offering an even wider vista, but I felt the reflection still wasn’t clear enough, so I decided to keep climbing~

After conquering the tough snowy mountain path, I finally reached the highest point—photography spot D, located beneath the iron tower.

Photography spot D captures the full reflection of the iron bridge. By then, the weather had cleared up, and the river reflected the blue sky beautifully~

From the highest photography spot D, you can also see another spot: the second Sai-no-Kawa Railway Bridge. A train will pass here shortly~

You can also see the “Dō no Shibamichi, Shimmashuku” stop we just passed.

At around 9:10 AM, with a rumbling sound, the JR East KiHa 40 series train appeared in its signature green livery!

Scenic beauty and railways—how could anyone not become a train enthusiast in Japan? To be honest, I took about 10 to 20 continuous shots, but I was afraid this article would get too long, so I only selected three to share~

The KiHa 40 stopped at Aizu-Nishiguchi Station.

The KiHa 40 crossing the second Sai-no-Kawa Railway Bridge.

A few minutes later, another KiHa 40 bound for Aizu-Wakamatsu passed over the second Sai-no-Kawa Railway Bridge.

The KiHa 40 heading to Aizu-Wakamatsu crosses the first Sai-no-Kawa Railway Bridge.

After the train passed, I remained standing on the mountaintop for a long time, admiring this once-in-a-lifetime view, unable to leave~

This is the “path” I had just climbed up. Going down was even harder than going up—later I slipped several times and literally slid my way down the mountain~ Who knew I could enjoy the thrill of a waterslide in the snow? It was so exhilarating~

After resting briefly at “Dō no Shibamichi, Shimmashuku,” I slowly walked back to “Aizu-Miyashita” Station. These were the sights along the way~

A snowman’s hand resting on a pole~

When I arrived near Aizu-Miyashita, I saw a tourist information center and popped in. The staff were shocked to learn I was from Taiwan—they asked how someone from Taiwan would come all the way here?
“It’s really popular in Taiwan!” I replied. The kind staff offered me a cup of amazake to warm up, and an elderly gentleman even recommended his secret photography spot: a place where you can see three arched bridges stacked together. He urged me to check it out~

After saying goodbye to the tourist info folks, I headed to the spot the Japanese uncle recommended. It wasn’t far from the station—I found it in no time~

The first of the three arched bridges I had just walked across leads to National Route 252. The middle one is the JR Sai-no-Kawa Line, and the top one is the national highway’s arched bridge.

Since there was still plenty of time, I continued walking downhill toward the previous station, “Aizu-Nishiguchi.” I enjoyed the beautiful scenery along the way~

This iron bridge is the “second Sai-no-Kawa Railway Bridge” I saw from the mountaintop earlier.

After a twenty-minute hike, you’ll reach the unmanned little station “Aizu-Nishiguchi.”

Actually, you could wait here for a train back to Aizu-Wakamatsu—but since I still had plenty of time, I decided to stroll slowly back to Aizu-Miyashita Station instead—enjoying the scenery once more along the way~

There are many hot springs around Miyashita, and I originally wanted to soak in one, but I ended up spending too much time wandering around and had to wait for another chance Up~

Back in Aizu-Miyashita, the train pulled in right on time at 1:00 PM. I boarded and bid farewell to this beautiful place, silently making up my mind: I’ll be back—definitely!

The train had drawings of the Sai-no-Kawa Line made by elementary school students—depicting exactly the first and second Sai-no-Kawa Railway Bridges I photographed that morning. I’ll never forget the memories of that winter, walking alone through the snowy roads toward the Sai-no-Kawa Line. The scenes were as picturesque as a painting, and I felt like the main character in a drama~
 

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