The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge 明石海峡大橋
The longest bridge
Its dimensions are staggering: 282 meters high, 3 911 meters long, a budget of 500 000 billion yen. The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge is undoubtedly one of the biggest bridges in history.
Built in 10 years, the bridge Akashi Kaikyo links Kobe and Awaji island!, spanning the Seto Inland Sea.
It is a tragic event that is at the origin of the bridge. In 1955, two ferries connecting Kobe and Awaji collided killing 170 people. To avoid a new tragedy, Japanese authorities decided to build a bridge. This was done in 1998, forty-three years later.
At the foot of Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, visitors can freely walk along a pleasant promenade. Close to Maiko Station, just next to the bridge, there is a small park. A popular fishing spot. It is also a special place to look at the bridge draped in lights at night.
View of the interior
It is also possible to visit the bridge from the inside between April and November. However, it is necessary to book in advance and the visit costs between 1 500 and 3 000円. At more than 60 meters above the water, visitors can observe the immensity of the construction from a kind of glass tube. But the highlight of the show is undoubtedly reaching the very top of the pylons, about 300 meters high. A unique panoramic observatory over the bay. Take a sweater however, the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge is swept by the wind.
