An Important Cultural Property designated by Kumamoto Prefecture, the Yase Megane Bridge is a stone bridge built at a dangerous spot on the Hyuga Okan, a major trade route, which connected Hyuga, or what is today Miyazaki Prefecture, and Mifune Town. It is said that Hayashida Yoshihiro, an intellect in his day who hailed from Mifune Town, invested private funds into the construction of the bridge, and it took four months to complete in 1855. The completion of the dual-purpose megane, or “spectacles,” bridge, consisting of this stone bridge and a nearby companion bridge used as a waterway for agricultural water, allowed Mifune Town to flourish as a distribution hub through improved traffic and a vibrant flow of people, horses, and goods coming in and out. While the Yase Megane Bridge was under construction, the Yase Stone Pavement was also laid down to improve the rough road. The 2-3-meter-wide stone pavement covers roughly 500 meters of the way up an approximately 800-meter steep hill, which is connected to the bridge and has an elevation difference of 78 meters. Flat stones have been laid down to make a little over 150 steps, with steps in some places set up lower than others.
The completion of the dual-purpose megane, or “spectacles,” bridge, consisting of this stone bridge and a nearby companion bridge used as a waterway for agricultural water, allowed Mifune Town to flourish as a distribution hub through improved traffic and a vibrant flow of people, horses, and goods coming in and out.
While the Yase Megane Bridge was under construction, the Yase Stone Pavement was also laid down to improve the rough road.
The 2-3-meter-wide stone pavement covers roughly 500 meters of the way up an approximately 800-meter steep hill, which is connected to the bridge and has an elevation difference of 78 meters. Flat stones have been laid down to make a little over 150 steps, with steps in some places set up lower than others.