Japanese Covered Bridge

Did you know you're standing on the single most iconic image in all of Vietnam? This bridge appears on the 20,000 dong banknote, and honestly, it deserves every bit of that honor. Welcome to Chua Cau, the Japanese Covered Bridge, and there is no better place to begin your journey through Hoi An. Take a breath. Feel the weathered wood beneath your feet. This bridge was built in the late 1500s by Japanese merchants who had settled in Hoi An during its golden age as one of Southeast Asia's busiest trading ports. Ships from Japan, China, India, Portugal, and the Netherlands all converged here, and this bridge literally connected the Japanese quarter on the west side to the Chinese quarter on the east. It was a meeting point between worlds. Look at the entrance on either end. You'll notice pairs of animal statues, monkeys on one side and dogs on the other. Legend says construction began in the Year of the Monkey and finished in the Year of the Dog. But there's a deeper story too. Local folklore tells of a monstrous creature called the Cu whose body stretched from Vietnam all the way to Japan, and whose thrashing caused...