The , or Nagoya-Kōbe Expressway is a

toll Toll may refer to: Transportation * Toll (fee) a fee charged for the use of a road or waterway ** Road pricing, the modern practice of charging for road use ** Road toll (historic), the historic practice of charging for road use ** Shadow toll, ...

expressway in Japan. It runs from a junction with the

Tōmei Expressway The is a national expressway on the island of Honshū in Japan. It is operated by Central Nippon Expressway Company. The expressway is designated as E1 under the "2016 Proposal for Realization of Expressway Numbering", because it parallels Nati ...

Komaki, Aichi is a city located in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 148,872 in 68,174 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city was . Komaki is commonly associated with the former Komaki Airport, whic ...

(outside

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

) west to

Nishinomiya, Hyōgo 270px, Nishinomiya City Hall 270px, Aerial view of Nishinomiya city center 270px, Hirota Shrine is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 484,368 in 218948 households and a population density of 48 ...

(between

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

and

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...

). It is the main road link between Osaka and Nagoya, and, along with the Tōmei Expressway, forms the main road link between Osaka and

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. East of the

Chūgoku Expressway The (part of Asian Highway Network ) is an expressway in Japan, which extends from Suita, Osaka to Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi. It connects Kansai and Chūgoku regions in western Honshu, Japan's main island. Other major cities along the expressway ...

near Osaka, it is part of

Asian Highway Network The Asian Highway Network (AH), also known as the Great Asian Highway, is a cooperative project among countries in Asia and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) to improve their connectivity via hig ...

(). The part east of interchange 29 ( Yōkaichi) is owned by the

Central Nippon Expressway Company The , abbreviated as , is one of the main operators of expressways and toll roads in Japan. It is headquartered in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture. The company was established on October 1, 2005 as a result of the privatization of Japan Highway Public Co ...

; the rest is owned by the

West Nippon Expressway Company The , abbreviated as , is one of the main operators of expressways and toll roads in Japan. It is headquartered on the 19th floor of Dojima Avanza in Kita-ku, Osaka. The company was established on October 1, 2005, as a result of the privatization o ...

History

The Meishin Expressway was the first expressway in Japan, with a section near Osaka and Kyoto opening July 16, 1963. The Meishin Expressway parallels the old

Nakasendō The , also called the ,Richard Lane, ''Images from the Floating World'' (1978) Chartwell, Secaucus ; pg. 285 was one of the five routes of the Edo period, and one of the two that connected Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to Kyoto in Japan. There were 6 ...

between

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

and Nagoya, now Route 8 and Route 21. The

Meihan National Highway The is a national expressway in Mie Prefecture and Nara Prefecture, Japan. The expressway is also known as the Meihan National Highway that is a literal translation of its Japanese name. Together with the Nishi-Meihan Expressway and Higashi-Me ...

is a mostly non-tolled

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

between Osaka and Nagoya, lying further south and built to lower standards. The

Shin-Meishin Expressway The or simply ''Shin-Meishin'' for short is an expressway, linking Mie prefecture to Hyōgo Prefecture, which is partially open and partially under construction. The expressways current length as of February 2008 is 49.7 km. It connects to ...

is an under-construction route between Osaka and Nagoya, lying between the two other high-speed roads, that will connect to the

Shin-Tōmei Expressway The , literally meaning New Tōmei, is a national expressway in Japan running parallel to the Tomei Expressway as an alternate route. It is operated by Central Nippon Expressway Company. The expressway is also numbered E1A under the "2016 Proposa ...

(via the

Isewangan Expressway The is a national expressway in the Tōkai region of Japan. It is owned and operated by Central Nippon Expressway Company. Naming The route primarily follows the north shore of Ise Bay (wangan means bayshore in Japanese). Officially, the route ...

) and the Sanyō Expressway. It roughly parallels the old Tōkaidō ( Route 1). During the

Great Hanshin earthquake The , or Kobe earthquake, occurred on January 17, 1995, at 05:46:53 JST (January 16 at 20:46:53 UTC) in the southern part of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, including the region known as Hanshin. It measured 6.9 on the moment magnitude scale and had ...

of January 17, 1995, the Meishin Expressway was lightly damaged but could only be used by

emergency vehicle An emergency vehicle is a vehicle used by emergency services. Emergency vehicles typically have specialized emergency lighting and vehicle equipment that allow emergency services to reach calls for service in a timely manner, transport equipment a ...

s for weeks after the earthquake. It was the only remaining link between Osaka and Kobe for some time after the quake.

List of interchanges and features

Interchanges not yet opened, closed, or abandoned are shown with a gray background. Exit numbers continue from the sequence of the

Tomei Expressway Tomei may refer to: People with the surname Tomei, which is an Italian version of Thomas *Concetta Tomei, (born 1945), American actress *Louis Tomei (1910–1955), American racecar driver *Marisa Tomei, (born 1964), American actress Other: *Tōmei ...

. * IC - interchange, SIC -

smart interchange A is a feature of Japanese expressways that provides exclusive access to and from the expressway for vehicles equipped with electronic toll collection (ETC). The feature increases accessibility to and from the expressway in less-populated areas ...

, JCT -

junction Junction may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Junction'' (film), a 2012 American film * Jjunction, a 2002 Indian film * Junction (album), a 1976 album by Andrew Cyrille * Junction (EP), by Basement Jaxx, 2002 * Junction (manga), or ''Hot ...

, PA -

parking area A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface ...

, SA -

service area Service area may refer to: * Rest area A rest area is a public facility located next to a large thoroughfare such as a motorway, expressway, or highway, at which drivers and passengers can rest, eat, or refuel without exiting onto secondary r ...

, TN -

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

, BS -

Bus stop A bus stop is a place where buses stop for passengers to get on and off the bus. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage, where stops at busy locations may have shelters, seating, and possibly electronic passenger ...

(S - open, X - closed)

History

List of interchanges and features

References

See also