# Amarube Viaduct Sora no Eki

> Three steel piers of the 1912 Amarube iron bridge still stand beside its 2010 concrete replacement, and the track on top is now a free viewing deck about 40 meters above a fishing village on the Sea of Japan. A train does stop right here, but only about ten local trains a day in each direction, and Osaka is four hours or more away.

- Prefecture: Hyogo
- Type: Landmark
- Address: Kami, Hyogo, Japan
- Official site: https://visitkami.com/thingstodo/h01

For almost a century, trains on the San'in Main Line crossed the Amarube valley on a steel trestle bridge about 310 meters long and 41.5 meters high, opened in 1912. On 28 December 1986, gusts of around 33 m/s blew seven cars of an out-of-service train off the bridge. They fell about 41 meters onto a seafood processing plant below, killing five workers there and the train's conductor, and injuring six more. The accident led to stricter wind rules, and in August 2010 the old bridge was replaced by the concrete one you see today, with clear windbreak walls that let trains keep running in stronger wind. Three of the old steel piers at the Amarube Station end were kept, and in 2013 the track on top opened as Sora no Eki, the station in the sky. You walk out along the old rails and sleepers to a dead end in mid-air, with the village roofs and the small harbor straight below. Since 2017 a glass elevator, the Amarube Crystal Tower, has run up from the valley floor in under a minute, so you no longer have to climb the steep slope. The deck is free. It is a short stop, perhaps 30 minutes, which matters when the next train may be two hours away.

## FAQ

### How often do trains stop at Amarube Station?

Only local trains stop, about ten a day in each direction, and there are gaps of more than two hours around midday. Limited expresses pass straight through. Check the JR West timetable for your return train before you arrive.

### Do I have to climb up to the viewing deck?

No. The glass elevator, the Amarube Crystal Tower, is free and takes under a minute. Kami town lists the deck as open from 6:00 to 21:30; hours can change by season, and it closes in bad weather. If you arrive by train, the deck is right next to the platform. The walking route from the valley is a steep slope with no steps that can be slippery in snow.

### What happened on the Amarube bridge in 1986?

On 28 December 1986, strong gusts blew seven cars of an out-of-service train off the old iron bridge. They fell about 41 meters onto a seafood processing plant, killing six people (five plant workers and the conductor). The concrete bridge that replaced it in 2010 has windbreak walls.

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Source: Amarube Viaduct Sora no Eki — Japan Voyage