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Setonaikai NP, Hyogo
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While its cables were already in place, the 1995 earthquake shifted the foundations and lengthened Akashi by 1 m: its planned 1,990 m center span became 1,991 m. Post-quake inspections found no significant damage.
Survey drilling for the bridge brought up an unexpected trace of ancient life: a fossil rhinoceros molar. A replica is displayed at the nearby Bridge Science Museum, alongside other fossils recovered during the project.
Each main cable bundles about 37,000 steel wires. Joined end to end, the wires in both cables total roughly 300,000 km—about 7.5 trips around Earth’s equator; a single wire can suspend roughly 4 tons.
The tower bases are 1,991 m apart, but their tops—297 m higher—are 93 mm farther apart. That tiny difference is intentional: Earth’s curvature makes the towers’ local verticals diverge.
Engineers tested a 1:100 whole-bridge model, 40 m long, in a giant wind tunnel built to fit it. Tests verified stability at 80 m/s; the model now hangs above visitors at the Bridge Science Museum.
The 1,991 m main span had to leave a 1,500 m international shipping lane open through the strait, which carried about 1,400 ships a day during construction. The bridge also gives large vessels 65 m of clearance.
A main-tower foundation began as a steel caisson about 80 m wide and 65 m tall, lowered onto the seabed and filled with concrete. Preparing the site meant excavating a 120 m-diameter patch of seabed—about the area of Koshien Stadium.
From its 1998 opening until March 2022, Akashi held the world record for the longest suspension-bridge main span. Türkiye’s 1915 Çanakkale Bridge then took the title, ending a remarkable 24-year run.
“Pearl Bridge” emerged from a public naming call that drew about 15,000 entries; the name evoked the bridge’s pearl-like night lighting. Later, shopkeepers around Maiko Station formed a group to champion the nickname.
The lighting calendar has a quiet side: the bridge is scheduled to glow Pearl White on Jan 17 and Mar 11, designated earthquake-remembrance dates. On its opening anniversary, Apr 5, it cycles through 28 patterns.
In 1953, Kobe mayor Chūjirō Haraguchi began preparing a city-led survey for an Akashi crossing. The bridge opened in 1998—45 years after his plan began moving from vision toward study.
