Kasumi, Yoroi, Amarube

What?
Just like Hamasaka, Kasumi is a small coastal town along the Sea of Japan, famous for crab and a rough coastline with cliffs and caves. Amarube is equally small, but far more famous because of its metal railway bridge that stood for almost 100 years and from which several people jumped to their deaths in addition to a train which got blown off it in 1986. It is now replaced by a concrete (and safer) bridge, although two of the metal pillars still stand.
Where?
Both Kasumi as Amarube Station are located in northern Hyogo prefecture and are served by the infrequent Sanin Main Line (山陰本線). Direct connections are available from Kinosaki Onsen, Himeji and Osaka stations.
URL
Visit Kami Kansai Odyssey Kasumi Tourism (Japanese)

I actually planned to walk along the coastline around Kasumi, then take the train to Amarube and wander a bit before heading back to Osaka. But the day before I noticed the beauty of the station between Kasumi and Amarube. Yoroi station can certainly not be qualified as a station worthy of the name, but the views on the local bay seem quite impressive. A pamphlet at my roof for the night showed a path between Yoroi and Amarube, so I changed my plans: I would rent a bicycle for the Kasumi coastline, then take the train for one station to Yoroi and then walk the distance to Amarube.

That was a very good last minute decision. When looking up what was interesting about Kasumi, I found that kayak or boat rides were the main attraction, but they didn’t sail out in October. The next best thing seemed to me the Imagoura Park with some dramatic views of the several small islands in the bay and with steep cliffs. And yes, it is beautiful and worth a quick visit. The walk along the coastline to reach it though would’ve been a drab 1 hour walk (and back) on a national road with dilapidated factories and ruins of shacks and old hotels. So my decision to take an (electrical) rental cycle turned out great!
At Imagoura Park there is not much to do aside from admiring the sea and cliffs. There is an island called Frog Island which indeed, unlike in most cases, resembles a frog. Funny that.
The observation platform to the north offered great views of the coastline to the east, and I could understand the decision of the kayak and boat companies to cut their season short. These waves and this wind were even dangerous from my high lookout point.
As I had this electric bicycle anyway, I went a little bit farther to a spot that apparently got elected in the top 100 spots with beautiful sunset views. You probably need to go in the evening - the view in daytime couldn’t compete with those at Imagoura.

Yes, that looks like a frog.

Imagoura Park.

Standing on station platform, part1.

Standing on station platform, part2.

After a quick bite I stepped on the train to get off seven minutes later at Yoroi station.
The view here is… well, it’s not that it’s more impressive than what I saw at for example Imagoura, but it’s the combination of actually standing on the station platform and the beautiful view that makes it worthwhile. I read that an average of 8 persons a day use this station, and today I was proud to be one of them.
The trail starts a few meters outside the “village”, which consists of a station and maybe 5-6 houses. It was easier than I had anticipated and it took me far less time - an hour and ten minutes including picture taking time - than I thought. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth it.
The trail goes through a monoculture forest, but the occasional viewpoint and the many birds were a big plus. The three viewing platforms that I encountered were well taken care of and offered good vistas of the beautiful Sanin coastline, and of my destination for the day, Amarube Station.

The station itself is… well, it’s a station. The famous railway bridge is… well, it doesn’t exist anymore. The concrete replacement bridge is just that: a concrete bridge. The view of the two pillars that still stand, commemorating the old steel bridge, is ruined by an unnecessarily big elevator tower and the concrete bridge built right next to it. The huge throng of visitors made it feel like peak hour in Osaka Station - hardly a good thing.
If you are not a huge train fan, this really isn’t worth your time. Read about the history and look at pictures of the old bridge on the net, that will be way more interesting.

As for the coastal walks of the last two days, they are part of the Sanin Kaigan Global Geopark trail. They are pretty, but if you had to choose I recommend by far the stretch along the Uradome coastline which is part of the same trail.