The bridge's history dates back to 1889 when a member of the Prefectural Parliament Okubo Jinnojo 大久保じん之丞 (1849-1891) suggested the idea of a Seto Ohashi Bridge. Okubo Jinnojo was born in a remote village of West Sanuki. At 23, Jinnojo became a village official. He said: "The 4 provinces of Shikoku are like so many remote islands. If united by roads, they will be much better off, enjoying the benefits of increased transportation and easier communication with each other." He envisioned and worked on several major road projects. ...

See also:

Great Seto Bridge, Great Seto Bridge - History, Great Seto Bridge - Named bridges, Great Seto Bridge - Trivia

Read more here: » Great Seto Bridge: Encyclopedia II - Great Seto Bridge - History

Including:

Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge - Illumination

Read more here: » Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge: Encyclopedia - Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge

1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. 1988 - Events. January 1 - The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is established, creating the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States. January 2 - Georgia celebrates its bicentennial statehood. January 9 - Connecticut celebrates its bicentennial statehood. January 26 - Australia celebrates its bicentennial. 1988 - February. ...

Including:

1988 - Events
1988 - February 1988 - March 1988 - April 1988 - May 1988 - June 1988 - July 1988 - August 1988 - September 1988 - October 1988 - November 1988 - December 1988 - Environmental change 1988 - Unknown dates
1988 - Births 1988 - Deaths
1988 - January to March 1988 - April to June 1988 - July to September 1988 - October to December
1988 - Nobel Prizes 1988 - Templeton Prize 1988 - Right Livelihood Award 1988 - Fictional references

Read more here: » 1988: Encyclopedia - 1988

Crossing Akashi Strait (ja. 明石海峡, Akashi-Kaikyō), this connection links Hyogo Prefecture on Honshu with Tokushima Prefecture on Shikoku, using Awaji Island for most of its length. The route connects to the Sanyo Expressway at its northern terminus, allowing traffic to connect to Himeji, Kobe, and other major cities on Honshu. This connection uses two suspension bridges. The more well-known of the two is the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, the world's longest suspension bridge, which connects Akashi to Awaji. The other bridge is the Onaru ...

See also:

Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Project, Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Project - Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway, Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Project - Seto-Chuo Expressway, Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Project - Nishiseto Expressway

Read more here: » Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Project: Encyclopedia II - Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Project - Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway

It is believed that in the last ice age the sea level was lower than today. After the ice age, sea water poured into a lower part between the Chugoku mountains and Shikoku mountains and formed the Island Sea as we know it today. From ancient times, the Inland Sea served a main transport line between its coastal areas, including what is today the Kansai region and Kyushu. It was also a main transport line between Japan and other countries, including Korea and China. Even after the creation of major highways such as the Nankaido and San ...

See also:

Inland Sea, Inland Sea - Geographical features, Inland Sea - Fauna, Inland Sea - History, Inland Sea - Industry, Inland Sea - Transport, Inland Sea - Major tourist sites, Inland Sea - Literature

Read more here: » Inland Sea: Encyclopedia II - Inland Sea - History

In Japan, railways are a major means of passenger transport, especially for mass and high-speed transport between major cities and for commuter transport in metropolitan areas. Seven Japan Railway companies, once state-owned until 1987, cover most parts of Japan. There also are railway services operated by private rail companies, regional governments, and companies funded by both regional governments and private companies. ...

See also:

Transportation in Japan, Transportation in Japan - Rail transport, Transportation in Japan - External links, Transportation in Japan - Road transport, Transportation in Japan - Marine transport, Transportation in Japan - Pipelines, Transportation in Japan - Air transport

Read more here: » Transportation in Japan: Encyclopedia II - Transportation in Japan - Rail transport

1988 - January. January 1 - The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is established, creating the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States. January 2 - Georgia celebrates its bicentennial statehood. January 9 - Connecticut celebrates its bicentennial statehood. January 26 - Australia celebrates its bicentennial. 1988 - February. February 3 - The United States House of Representatives controlled by the Democratic Party re ...

See also:

1988, 1988 - Events, 1988 - January, 1988 - February, 1988 - March, 1988 - April, 1988 - May, 1988 - June, 1988 - July, 1988 - August, 1988 - September, 1988 - October, 1988 - November, 1988 - December, 1988 - Environmental change, 1988 - Unknown dates, 1988 - Births, 1988 - Deaths, 1988 - January to March, 1988 - April to June, 1988 - July to September, 1988 - October to December, 1988 - Nobel Prizes, 1988 - Templeton Prize, 1988 - Right Livelihood Award, 1988 - Fictional references

Read more here: » 1988: Encyclopedia II - 1988 - Events

Japan has many airports. The main international gateways are Narita International Airport (Tokyo area), Kansai International Airport (Osaka/Kobe/Kyoto area), and Chubu Centrair International Airport (Nagoya area). The main domestic hub is Tokyo International Airport (Haneda Airport), Asia's busiest airport; other major traffic hubs include Osaka International Airport (Itami Airport), New Chitose Airport outside Sapporo, and Fuk ...

See also:

Transportation in Japan, Transportation in Japan - Rail transport, Transportation in Japan - External links, Transportation in Japan - Road transport, Transportation in Japan - Marine transport, Transportation in Japan - Pipelines, Transportation in Japan - Air transport

Read more here: » Transportation in Japan: Encyclopedia II - Transportation in Japan - Air transport

Also known as the Great Seto Bridge, this line connects Okayama Prefecture to Kagawa Prefecture. A series of six major bridges and five viaducts are used. The six bridges are: the Shimotsui-Seto Bridge, Hitsuishijima Bridge, Iwakurojima Bridge, Yoshima Bridge, Kita Bisan-Seto Bridge, and Minami Bisan-Seto Bridge. The Seto-Chuo bridges are also used by JR express trains, and are designed to accommodate high-speed Shinkansen service in the future, al ...

See also:

Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Project, Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Project - Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway, Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Project - Seto-Chuo Expressway, Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Project - Nishiseto Expressway

Read more here: » Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Project: Encyclopedia II - Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Project - Seto-Chuo Expressway

Waterways are about 1,770 km; seagoing craft ply all coastal inland seas. The twenty-two major seaports designated as special important ports by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport include Chiba, Fushiki/Toyama, Himeji, Hiroshima, Kawasaki, Kitakyushu, Kobe, Kudamatsu, Muroran, Nagoya, Niigata, Osaka, Sakai/Senpoku, Sendai/Shiogama, Shimizu, Shimonoseki, Tokyo, Tomakomai, Wakayama, Yokkaichi, and Yokohama. Japan has 662 ships of 1,000 GRT or over, totaling 13,039,488 GRT or 18,024,969 DWT. There are 146 bulk ships, 4 ...

See also:

Transportation in Japan, Transportation in Japan - Rail transport, Transportation in Japan - External links, Transportation in Japan - Road transport, Transportation in Japan - Marine transport, Transportation in Japan - Pipelines, Transportation in Japan - Air transport

Read more here: » Transportation in Japan: Encyclopedia II - Transportation in Japan - Marine transport

Today the Inland Sea serves its coastal areas mainly for two purpose: first international or domestic cargo transportation and second local transportation between coastal areas and islands on it. Major ports are Kobe, Okayama, Takamatsu, Tokushima, Matsuyama and Hiroshima. Honshu and Shikoku are connected with three series of bridges since the late of 1980s, constructed since 1970s. Those series of bridges are from east to west, Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, Great Seto Bridge, Setouchi Shimanami Kaido Express. On the other hand, no bridge over the Inland ...

See also:

Inland Sea, Inland Sea - Geographical features, Inland Sea - Fauna, Inland Sea - History, Inland Sea - Industry, Inland Sea - Transport, Inland Sea - Major tourist sites, Inland Sea - Literature

Read more here: » Inland Sea: Encyclopedia II - Inland Sea - Transport

1988 - January to March. January 2 - Edmund Brisco Ford, British geneticist (b. 1901) January 5 - Pete Maravich, American basketball player (b. 1947) January 7 - Trevor Howard, British actor (b. 1913) January 11 - Pappy Boyington, American pilot (b. 1912) January 13 - Chiang Ching-kuo, President of the Republic of China (b. 1910) January 14 - Georgi Malenkov, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party (b. 1902) January 15 - Se ...

See also:

1988, 1988 - Events, 1988 - January, 1988 - February, 1988 - March, 1988 - April, 1988 - May, 1988 - June, 1988 - July, 1988 - August, 1988 - September, 1988 - October, 1988 - November, 1988 - December, 1988 - Environmental change, 1988 - Unknown dates, 1988 - Births, 1988 - Deaths, 1988 - January to March, 1988 - April to June, 1988 - July to September, 1988 - October to December, 1988 - Nobel Prizes, 1988 - Templeton Prize, 1988 - Right Livelihood Award, 1988 - Fictional references

Read more here: » 1988: Encyclopedia II - 1988 - Deaths

The Inland Sea is 450 km long from east to west. The width from south to north varies from 15 to 55 km. In most places, the water is relatively shallow. The average depth is 37.3 m; the greatest depth is 105 m. The Naruto Strait connects the eastern part of the Inland Sea to the Kii Channel, which in turn connects to the Pacific. The western part of the Inland Sea connects to the Sea of Japan through the Kanmon S ...

See also:

Inland Sea, Inland Sea - Geographical features, Inland Sea - Fauna, Inland Sea - History, Inland Sea - Industry, Inland Sea - Transport, Inland Sea - Major tourist sites, Inland Sea - Literature

Read more here: » Inland Sea: Encyclopedia II - Inland Sea - Geographical features

The coastal area of the Inland Sea is one of most industrialized areas in modern Japan. Besides Osaka, Kobe and Hiroshima, some other major industrial cities are Kurashiki, Kure, Fukuyama, and Ube in Honshu, and Sakaide and Niihama in Shikoku. Innoshima is also known for its ship factory. The main industries are steel production, ship construction and since 1960s oil refining and oil derived production. Thanks to the moderate climate and beautiful landscape, fishing, agriculture and tourism bri ...

See also:

Inland Sea, Inland Sea - Geographical features, Inland Sea - Fauna, Inland Sea - History, Inland Sea - Industry, Inland Sea - Transport, Inland Sea - Major tourist sites, Inland Sea - Literature

Read more here: » Inland Sea: Encyclopedia II - Inland Sea - Industry

The coastal area of the Inland Sea is one of most famous tourist destinations in Japan. Even before Japan opened to foreigners in the middle of the 19th century, its beauty was praised and introduced to the Western world by those who visited Japan including Philipp Franz von Siebold, and after its opening, Ferdinand von Richthofen and Thomas Cook. Its coastal area, except for Osaka prefecture and a part of Wakayama prefecture, was appointed the Inland Sea National Park (瀬戸内海国立公園, Setonaikai Kokuritsu kōen) on March 16, 19 ...

See also:

Inland Sea, Inland Sea - Geographical features, Inland Sea - Fauna, Inland Sea - History, Inland Sea - Industry, Inland Sea - Transport, Inland Sea - Major tourist sites, Inland Sea - Literature

Read more here: » Inland Sea: Encyclopedia II - Inland Sea - Major tourist sites

Japan has 1,152,207 km of highways with 863,003 km (including 6,114 km of expressways) paved and 289,204 km of unpaved ways (1997 est.). A single network of high-speed, divided, limited-access toll roads connects major cities on Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu. Hokkaido has a separate network, and Okinawa Island has a highway of this type. In the year 2005, the toll collecting companies, formerly Japan Highway Public Corporation, have been transformed into private companies in public ownership, and there are plans to sell parts of them. The aim of t ...

See also:

Transportation in Japan, Transportation in Japan - Rail transport, Transportation in Japan - External links, Transportation in Japan - Road transport, Transportation in Japan - Marine transport, Transportation in Japan - Pipelines, Transportation in Japan - Air transport

Read more here: » Transportation in Japan: Encyclopedia II - Transportation in Japan - Road transport