Hijikawa River ends at Nagahama and flows out into the ocean from there. In the past, timber rafts were built upstream and sent floating down the river to Nagahama port, where many ships passed through. To accommodate larger ships, they built a rising bridge that opens and closes. It’s one of few such bridges still in operation in Japan. In fact, it’s said that Nagahama Bridge is the oldest one in Japan and the only rising bridge that’s for road vehicles as opposed to rail. Though the bridge isn’t used today since large ships no longer pass through, they still raise it once a week for maintenance. Get your camera ready just in case you catch this photo opportunity.