Kawazu Nanadaru Loop Bridge

Route 414 climbs north out of Kawazu toward the Amagi Pass, and near the Nanadaru waterfalls it has to gain 45 meters inside a narrow valley. It does this by spiraling. The Kawazu Nanadaru Loop Bridge turns two full circles, each about 80 meters across, over a total length of 1,064 meters. The old road clung to the hillside, and the Izu-Oshima Kinkai Earthquake of January 1978 brought landslides down on it. The loop, finished in 1981, carries the road on piers instead, and it won the Japan Society of Civil Engineers' Tanaka Award. It is a road for vehicles. Cars, motorcycles and bicycles use it, the speed limit is 40 km/h and there is no sidewalk, so walking across on the roadway is not advised. Driving it is more strange than scary: one long, tight curve, passing under the deck you will be on a minute later. To see the whole spiral, park in the free lot inside the loop (about 20 to 25 cars, with restrooms) and walk a little way. The Kawazu Nanadaru trail, about 1.5 km past seven waterfalls, is close by. A local guide reports repainting and repair work from March 2025, expected to run for several years.