Few railways in Japan are photographed as often as the JR Tadami Line. In winter its small trains cross steel bridges over the dark, mirror-still Tadami River while snow loads every branch on the hills around them. Photographer Hideyuki Katagiri, known as HIDE KTG, is among those who have made this valley in Fukushima famous.
The Tadami Line: 135 km through the mountains of Aizu
The Tadami Line runs 135.2 km between Aizu-Wakamatsu in Fukushima Prefecture and Koide in Niigata Prefecture, with 36 stations along the way. For much of its length it follows the Tadami River upstream through the deep, snowy mountains of the Oku-Aizu region.
The line was built in stages. The eastern section opened in 1928 and the western section in 1942, and the two were finally joined in 1971 when the stretch between Tadami and Ōshirakawa was completed.
Flood damage and the 2022 reopening
In July 2011 torrential rain washed out parts of the line and closed the section between Aizu-Kawaguchi and Ōshirakawa. Tadami to Ōshirakawa reopened in October 2012, but the stretch between Aizu-Kawaguchi and Tadami stayed closed for 11 years while replacement buses ran instead.
The rescue came from the region itself. Fukushima Prefecture bought the track and land, contracted JR East to run the trains, and full through-service resumed on 1 October 2022.
Riding the Tadami Line: timetable and tips
All trains are local services that stop at every station, with around eight or nine trains a day in each direction on the busier sections. Only three round trips run the full length, and the end-to-end journey takes more than four hours. Many trains are one-man, conductorless services; the official guide explains how to ride them.
- Plan around the timetable. With so few trains, missing one can cost you several hours.
- Check the JR East timetable in winter, as times can change with snow and weather.
Tadami River Bridge No. 1 viewpoint in Mishima
The most famous view on the line is the Tadami River Bridge No. 1 viewpoint (Daiichi Tadami-gawa Kyōryō) in Mishima Town. The nearest station is Aizu-Miyashita, about 1 hour 20 minutes from Aizu-Wakamatsu (¥860, covered by the JR East Pass).
From the station a Monday-to-Saturday commuter bus runs to the Michi-no-Eki Ozekaido Mishima-juku roadside station, which opens daily at 8:00 and sells snacks and souvenirs. From there, a short uphill footpath leads to the viewpoints above the river. The 40-minute walk from the station follows a road without footpaths, so the bus or a car is the better choice.
The classic shot is a train crossing the bridge; drivers often sound the horn just before. In summer, the early-morning trains can cross in river mist. To catch the first trains, stay overnight in the ryokan of Miyashita Onsen.
For timetables and station information, see the official Tadami Line guide. For more scenic rail and river landscapes, compare the Furka railway and pass landscape and the Gros Ventre in Wyoming.
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