Akashi Kaikyo Bridge
- Usage
- Statistics
- Akashi Kaikyo Bridge Exhibition Center
- Akashi Kaikyo Bridge Guided Tour
- Maiko Marine Promenade
- Maiko Park
- Why "Akashi"?
- Accommodation on Awaji
- Access
- Awaji Map
Akashi Kaikyo Bridge 明石海峡大橋
The Longest Suspension Bridge in the World, the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge
The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge connects Japan's main island, Honshu, with Awaji Island. It spans the Akashi Straits, from Kobe, in Hyogo Prefecture, to the northern tip of Awaji Island. Completed in 1998, the bridge is still the longest suspension bridge in the world and a true engineering marvel.
The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge Museum in Maiko Park, Akashi, near Kobe
Inside the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge Exhibition Center with displays showing the history of the world's longest suspension bridge
Usage
The bridge carries vehicles but no railway. The Shimanami Kaido highway, which the bridge forms a part of, goes all the way down to the south of Awaji Island and then south-west across the water to the island of Shikoku. (The bridge that forms the Awaji-to-Shikoku section is called the Onaruto Bridge.)
The channel the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge crosses is one of the busiest sea lanes in the world with around a thousand boats passing under it every day. The current can get quite strong. In fact, in 1955 two ferries sank in the straits during a storm with the loss of 168 lives.
Construction of the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge began in 1988. In 1995 the Great Hanshin Earthquake struck. Although only the two great towers were finished and were not damaged, the shift in the earth caused the towers to move more than a meter apart. So calculations had to be done again and minor changes to the design implemented.
The entrance to the Maiko Marine Promenade is inside the huge, concrete anchor block of the Akashi Kaikyo Suspension Bridge
Statistics
The bridge's statistics are staggering. The total length of this six-lane bridge is almost 4 kilometers. And the central span is 1,991 meters, the longest span in the world.
The towers are 283 meters above sea level, and the foundations are in 60 meters of water. Approximately 700,000 bolts hold the tower sections together.
The cables are composed of 36,830 strands of wire, with a total wire length of 300,000 kilometers. The huge concrete and steel anchor blocks at either end of the bridge each weigh 350,000 tons.
The Maiko Marine Promenade below the Akashi Kaikyo Suspension Bridge
Observation lounge 50 meters above the water at the Maiko Marine Promenade of Akashi Kaikyo Bridge
Akashi Kaikyo Bridge Exhibition Center
The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge Exhibition Center is on the Akashi (i.e., mainland) side of the bridge. Here you can see videos, displays, photos, and models that show how the bridge was built, and how it is maintained.
Above your head is the actual scale model used in wind tunnel tests to ensure that the bridge could stand the winds that come in the typhoon season.
There are also models and information on other bridges in Japan like those across the Shimanami Kaido a little further west. The exhibits are surprisingly interesting even for those who are not usually enamored of things technical.
Akashi Kaikyo Bridge Exhibition Center
4-114 Higashimaikocho
Tarumi-ku, Kobe-shi
Hyogo 655-0047
Tel: 078 784 3339
Hours: Open from 9:15 am to 5 pm (last entry at 4:30 pm) from March to July 19, and in September, October November - however, closed Mondays except when Monday is a public holiday (when closed Tuesday instead) and open for the whole of Golden Week.
From July 20 and the whole of August: open 9:15 am to 6 pm (last entry at 5:30 pm) and open seven days a week.
December, January, February: open open 9:15 am to 4:30 pm (last entry 4 pm) - however, closed Mondays except when Monday is a public holiday (when closed Tuesday instead).
Closed December 29 - January 3.
Admission: Entry is 310 yen for adults, 150 yen for kids.
Akashi Kaikyo Bridge Guided Tour
For a truly spectacular view of the bridge and for stunning views across the whole area, a guided tour of the bridge that includes a trip to the top of one of the 300 meter high towers is highly recommended. The tour is actually one of the services provided by the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge Exhibition Center.
Maiko Marine Promenade
The Maiko Marine Promenade is a glass-enclosed walkway under the roadway of the bridge. This makes it possible to go up into the bridge and out across the water.
From the ground floor entrance you ride an elevator up and then walk along the 300 meter long walkway, 50 meters above the water below, to the observation lounge.
Here you can look up and down the coast, across to Awaji Island, or watch the boats pass underneath you. There is also a cafe and small souvenir shop here.
Maiko Marine Promenade
2051 Higashimaikocho, Tarumi-ku
Kobe-shi, Hyogo 655-0047
Tel: 078 785 5090
Hours: 9 am - 6 pm. Admission: 300 yen for adults on weekends and public holidays, or 250 yen on weekdays. Free for children.
Maiko Park
The area around the bridge on the Akashi side is Maiko Park, part of the city of Kobe, and was established in 1900. As well as the large grassy areas with sea and bridge views, there is also a pine forest and several historic houses.
The former residence of the Kinoshita Family is built in the ancient sukiyazukuri style but is fairly modern, dating from 1941.
The former residence of Sanji Muto is older, built in 1907 in a more western style, and is also open to the public. But probably the most interesting is the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall (Sonbun Memorial Hall) with its octagonal three story tower.
Sun Yat-sen was the first president of the Republic of China and spent a lot of time in exile in Japan. The house displays documents and materials related to him. It is open from 10 am to 5 pm, closed on Mondays, except when Monday is a public holiday (when closed Tuesday instead. Entry is 300 yen.
The closest train stations to Maiko Park and the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge are Maiko Station on the JR Sanyo Line and Maikokoen Station on the Sanyo Electric Railway, both just a few hundred meters from the Exhibition Center. The journey is 35 to 45 minutes from Himeji, or 25 minutes from Sannomiya Station in Kobe.
Akashi Kaikyo Bridge is easily reached from nearby Kobe, Kyoto or Osaka.
There are several historic buildings in Maiko Park, including the former home of Sun Yat-sen, the founding father of the Chinese Republic; in the background is the Former Residence of Sanji Muto (aka the Former "Kanebo Maiko Club")
Why "Akashi"?
The road that the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge is a part of - the Kobe-Awaji Naruto Expressway - runs through Kobe City, and not nearby Akashi City, which is just west of Kobe. And the bridge itself has its northern end in Kobe City. You may therefore be wondering why it is called the "Akashi" Kaikyo Bridge when it is almost 2 km east of Akashi City. This is because the strait the bridge crosses is called the Akashi Strait, and because Maiko Park, where the Honshu end of the bridge is located, used to be part of Akashi City.
Accommodation on Awaji
Accommodation on Awaji includes the luxurious The Westin Resort & Conference Center Awaji Island, where the England football team stayed during the 2002 World Cup in Korea/Japan. There was a brief boom among young Japanese women after the tournament to stay in the room where David Beckham had slept.
In Awaji city options include the Athena Kaigetsu, which is handy for the Awaji World Park Onokoro. Further south on the east coast at Sumoto are the Kaigetsukan, the Yumekaiyu, the Umi no Hotel Shimahana, the two star Awaji TT House Pacific Over Seas and the Hotel New Awaji. On the west coast are the Awaji Hamarikyu and Pension Le Mer. There are also a number of campsites on the island for the budget traveler.
Dream Lens, by Japanese sculptor Keizo Ushio, is a popular photo spot in Maiko Park
Getting To & From Awaji
Air
Kobe Airport is the nearest airport to Awaji Island and has flights to to Ibaraki, Ishigaki, Kagoshima, Naha (Okinawa), Nagasaki, Sapporo and Tokyo (Haneda). Kobe Airport is located on an artificial island just south of Port Island and connects to Sannomiya by Port Liner trains.
Rail
JR Shinkansen bullet train stops at Shin-Kobe Station. About 1 km south of Shin-Kobe Station, Sannomiya Station is the main rail hub for intercity Hankyu, Hanshin and JR trains to Osaka and Kyoto. There are no trains on Awaji Island.
Ferry
There are direct ferry services to Iwaya on Awaji from Akashi Port, a short walk from JR Akashi Station. The Jenova ferry is a 13-minute crossing from Akashi to Iwaya. For adults the fare is 500 yen with an extra 220 yen fee for a bicycle.
The ferries run roughly every 20 minutes on weekdays, every 40 minutes on weekends. See the Jenova ferry schedule (top chart: weekdays, lower chart: weekends/public holidays; left hand side: Iwaya to Akashi, right hand side: Akashi to Iwaya).
The high-speed ferry service between Sumoto and Kansai International Airport (KIX) ceased in 2007.
Bus
There are Express Bus services from JR Shin-Kobe Station to Sumoto on Awaji (2 hours) and on to Tokushima on Shikoku.
Infrequent local buses around the island are provided by Awaji Kotsu. Hitch-hiking is a viable option if you get stuck.
Awaji Map
Nearby
Akashi Castle - built in 1619 to protect the approach to Osaka from the west.
Book Hotel Accommodation in Kobe Japan
Books on Japan
Akashi Kaikyo Bridge connects Kobe city on Honshu to Iwaya on Awaji Island. It was completed in 1998 and remains the longest suspension bridge in the world.
