Akashi Kaikyō Bridge

The Akashi Kaikyō Bridge is a highway suspension bridge linking the Tarumi-ku district of Kōbe on Honshū to the island of Awaji-shima across the Akashi Strait. At a main span of 1,991 meters, it held the world record as the longest suspension bridge from its opening in 1998 until 2022, when Turkey's Çanakkale 1915 Bridge surpassed it. Notably, the 1995 Kōbe earthquake struck during construction, shifting one of the pylons by roughly one meter and slightly elongating the final span. The bridge carries six lanes of highway traffic and is illuminated each night in shifting colors, best viewed from the Awaji-shima shore or from boats passing through the strait below.