120820-0002 - Nihonbashi Bridge

The newly constructed Nihonbashi Bridge in Tokyo, designed by Yorinaka Tsumaki (妻木頼黄, 1859-1916).

During the Edo Period (1600-1867), the bridge was the starting point of the famous Tokaido and the other 4 post roads. The stone bridge with bronze lions and wrought-iron gas lamps replaced the wooden one in 1911 (Meiji 44).

Now hidden below an ugly highway, it is one of only two surviving Meiji-era bridges in Tokyo.