‘Phantom Bridge’ Emerges from Frozen Lake in Northern Japan

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:51 JST, February 9, 2023

A walker surveys the ruins of the now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t Taushubetsu River Bridge at Lake Nukabira in Kamishihoro, Hokkaido. The defunct railroad bridge — previously part of the former Japan National Railways’ Shihoro Line — emerges from the lake around January each year when the water level falls at Nukabira Dam. As the snow melts with the approach of summer, the water level rises again, and the bridge disappears from view until the next year. A popular tourist attraction, it is known locally as the “phantom bridge.” A 68-year-old visitor from Sapporo said, “I really wanted to come see it, at least once.”