Kurushima-Kaikyo Köprüsü
The Kurushima-Kaikyo Bridge connects Imabari City in Ehime Prefecture to Oshima Island across the Kurushima Strait — a three-in-a-row suspension bridge with a total length of 4,105 m. It opened in May 1999 with the completion of the Honshu-Shikoku Onomichi-Imabari route (Shimanami Kaido), as the world's first three-section suspension bridge. The first (960 m), second (1,515 m), and third (1,570 m) suspension structures connect in distinctive sequence; beneath them flow currents of up to 10 knots in the Kurushima Strait — one of Japan's three great fast-current straits. With a bicycle and pedestrian path along the deck, Shimanami Kaido is a globally renowned cycling route, and the views from Mt. Kiro Observatory and Itoyama Park form the Inland Sea's most dramatic compositions.
Highlights
- Three-section suspension structure — a world-first sequence of First, Second, and Third bridges, totaling 4,105 m and slicing across the strait in a straight line
- View from Mt. Kiro Observatory — at 307 m, a 360° panorama of the entire bridge, the strait, and surrounding islands; spectacular at sunset
- Itoyama Park (Imabari side) — a park beside the bridge's foot, where the slanting late-day light and the shimmering surface combine beautifully
- Cycling deck — a 6.5 km cycling path on top of the bridge, riding 70 m above the sea — the symbol of the Shimanami Kaido route
- Fast strait currents — up to 10 knots beneath the bridge, with whitecaps and eddies that animate the shot
