Sada Chinkabashi
佐田沈下橋33°01′ N 132°53′ EBridge
The Sada Chinkabashi suits riders and families who want to cross the Shimanto River on a bridge with no railings, and it is a working road, so give way to local cars.
Road closure
Repairs close the Sada Tunnel on weekdays on the drive to the Sada sinking bridge
Repair work shuts the Sada Tunnel completely from 8:30 to 17:00 between 19 October and 19 November 2026, and this is the tunnel you drive through to reach the Sada Chinkabashi. From 19 November to 10 December it runs one lane at a time during the same hours. No work is planned on Saturdays or Sundays. The dates can move with the work, so read the signs near the tunnel before you set off.
Checked 2026-10-11 · shimanto-kankou.com
Photo Hiroaki Kaneko · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 and others, credited in the gallery
Access
The deck has no railings, so keep children close.
A chinkabashi, or sinking bridge, is built low with no railings so that floodwater flows over it and drift has nothing to catch on. The Shimanto runs 196 km and is the longest river in Shikoku, and Shimanto city alone has nine of these bridges. Sada, officially the Imanari Bridge, is the one nearest the sea and the longest, at 291.6 metres and 4.2 metres wide, built in 1972.
Upstream, the Iwama bridge is the one on the posters, and it reopened in April 2021 after closing in November 2017. The Katsuma bridge stands on three piers. Around Ekawasaki, the Nakahage bridge is for walkers and bikes only and sits beside a road bridge and a railway bridge.
From 19 October to 19 November 2026 the Sada Tunnel on the car route to the bridge closes completely on weekdays from 8:30 to 17:00, then runs one lane at a time until 10 December. Work is not planned on weekends.
Worth knowing
- Local cars use the bridge, so stop at the side to take photos and keep other people and their cars out of your frame.
- Come by national road 441 from the city; road 340 from the town centre is closed to large vehicles.
Quick answers about Sada Chinkabashiよくある質問
What are the opening hours of Sada Chinkabashi?
Sada Chinkabashi is open open at all times. The bridge carries local traffic and is closed whenever the river covers it.
When is the best time to visit Sada Chinkabashi?
Sada Chinkabashi: After a dry spell, since heavy rain can put the bridge under water. Golden Week and Obon bring traffic marshals to the bridge.
Can you get to Sada Chinkabashi by bike?
About 50 minutes by bike from the Shimanto City Tourism Association next to Nakamura Station, which rents bikes. Riders from Ekawasaki reach the Nagaoi, Nakahage and Hage bridges on a quiet 20 km return route.
Within 12 km
