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Monday, December 22, 2008

Astounding Japanese Highways, Bridges and Interchanges


"QUANTUM SHOT" #513
Article by Steve Levenstein, Link



"Farewell Horizontal!"

Japan saw most of its infrastructure bombed back to the stone age in the final years of World War II, which makes the country's post-war rejuvenation all the more astounding. Huge, complex public works projects saw a concrete & steel web of highways, bridges and interchanges blossom from the wreckage of war.

Today, shaped by the demands of restrictive space and economic boom & bust, Japan's hardened transportation arteries display artistic forms that go far beyond their functions.



(images credit: Ken Ohyama)

Above left is the Hakozaki Junction, part of the Metropolitan Expressway in Tokyo, and at right is the Hokko Junction in Osaka... These images illustrate the solution engineers used when building multi-lane highway interchanges in some of the world's most crowded cities in Japan: go vertical!



(images credit: Ken Ohyama)

Ken Ohyama has made it his mission to chronicle some of the more striking Japanese roadworks in a Flickr series called Interchange and a book of his photos available from Amazon. One of the more outstanding examples is The Hokko Junction shown above - a part of the Hanshin Expressway near Japan's second city, Osaka.



Also in Osaka is the Higashiosaka (East Osaka) Loop of the Hanshin Expressway. The photographer's technique gives the sweeping curve of the roadway an almost tubular appearance:


(images credit: Ken Ohyama)

When engineers have space to work with, they take full advantage. This wide field view of the Higashiosaka interchange shows the almost organic complexity of a busy cloverleaf, resembling a living creature's circulatory system with the vehicles acting as blood cells.


(image credit: zvkk)

Highways upon highways... without any end in sight:


(images credit: Andrew Yamaguchi, Sergei Mingazhev, Stassia)

One interesting feature of Japanese elevated highways: they often run above rivers or sea channels, using the available space above the water. Here are some of these "highways on the sea" -



(images credit: takasuuuui, kokix)

The incredible Japanese road infrastructure really took off in the 1960s - check out the vintage photo on the right:


(left image credit: FotoOleg)

Such "Bladerunner" sights are commonplace now, brimming with urban energy -



(images credit: kokix)

By the way, for the tricky "urban density" photography, head over to this page... and see if you can spot something wrong with the image there.


Slipping Sideways

Some sections of the Hanshin Expressway suffered severe damage during the 7.2 magnitude Great Hanshin Earthquake which hit the Kobe, Japan area in January of 1995, killing over 5,500 people and costing over $200 billion.


(image credit: AFP / Jiji Press)

On the bright side, the affected sections of the highway did not "pancake", as happened in the 1989 Loma Prieta quake, but instead slipped sideways and tumbled over. Either way, one doesn't want to be driving through a highway interchange or junction when a big quake hits!


Recession, what recession?

Public works spending has long been the Japanese government's preferred way to spend budget surpluses, boost employment, keep the ruling party's supporters in the construction industry loyal, or all of the above. The highway depicted below is one of those projects, steadily overtaking a quiet city street like Godzilla in slow motion.


(images credit: Cisco's Japan Blog and Snegura)

Which came first, the highway or the building? The question is moot as both have learned to accommodate one another. The Hanshin Expressway takes a shortcut through the 5th to 7th floors of Fukushima's Gate Tower building, also known as the Bee Hive.



(images via)

The story goes that the original building's owner wanted to knock it down and rebuild, but was told by city planners that the space was being allocated to a newly planned exit of the expressway. Both sides refused to budge, and the compromise was completed in 1992.


(image via)

Tokyo residents can easily avoid using the highways and expressways which crisscross the city, thanks to one of the world's largest and most efficient subway systems, but when traffic is light they can be a pleasure to drive. The view can be pretty intense, as in the time-lapse photo below:


(image credit: Vladimir Zakharov)

Urban density in Tokyo is simply astounding:


(image credit: Sam Graf)


The Rainbow Bridge and the longest suspension bridge

Dark Roasted Blend has been covering some rather fascinating bridges before. Here are a few more - a spectacular sample from Japan. The 570 meter (1,870 ft) long Rainbow Bridge spans the northern (inner) part of Tokyo Bay and has been a city landmark since it opened in 1993. Two roadways, a transit line and pedestrian walkways all use the bridge, resulting in a seemingly chaotic tangle from certain angles.




(images credit: Uncharted Futures and lmkuzya)

It's at night, however, that the Rainbow Bridge comes alive with signature color! Spotlights mounted at strategic locations bathe the bridge's superstructure in prismatic glory. Best of all, the lighting is solar powered with energy stored during the day powering the light show at night:


(image credit: Gussisaurio)

Announced in 1969, the massive Kobe-Naruto highway route project stretches 81 kilometers to connect Japan's main island of Honshu with the much smaller island of Shikoku to the south. The jewel in the crown is the 4-kilometer long Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, which cost $3.6 billion to build over the ten year period between 1988 and 1998:


(image credit: Aurelio Asiain)

Of course, any discussion of Japanese highways wouldn't be complete without mention of Mount Fuji. The mountain's iconic snowy peak is visible from Tokyo - on clear days, at least - but though it's certainly possible to reach the dormant volcano's doorstep via highway, taking the Shinkansen bullet train is a better bet.


(image credit: fui)

If by now you're wondering what it's like to drive on a Japanese highway, here's your chance... albeit vicariously through this video:


Link

One thing you want to keep firmly in mind if you should be driving in Japan: they drive on the "wrong" side of the road, just like in the United Kingdom. Yours truly spent a wonderful vacation driving a rented Subaru Justy west to east across northern Japan in 1992, and although one gets used to both the setup of the roads and the reversed driving position (the steering wheel's on the right side), you don't want to lose your concentration and fall into old habits - especially when cruising up and down steep mountain roads!

CONTINUE TO "THE BEST OF JAPAN" SERIES ->

Also Read:
World's Worst Intersections & Traffic Jams

Permanent Link......+StumbleUpon ...+Facebook
Category: Architecture,Japan


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COMMENTS:

5 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

The Beehive is not in Fukushima, it's in Osaka.

___  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Fukushima-ku is a ward in the city of Osaka.

___  
Anonymous Mike Dane said...

The pictures are absolutely beautiful. Thank you for showing them.

___  
Anonymous Gennaro said...

Wow. Stunning. That's some impressive innovation.

___  
Anonymous Rob said...

The picture on the left under 'Recession, What recession?' is actually of an automated rubber-tired mass transit system, the Nippori-Toneri liner. It's extremely shiny and its stations and concrete pillars are just massive.
Apparently it was only to replace a bus line (on the street below), but everyone I know who uses it is grateful. I suppose there's worse places to build. (Ask Alex Kerr)

___  

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  • Number 9 is an urban legend. The actual error was in transcribing an overbar in an equation that caused the rocket guidance failure. It was a simple omission of a specific equation. The same omission almost caused the failure of the Ranger 5 launch as well, but they caught it in time and fixed it.

    Too bad Ranger 5 failed for other reasons...
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    If that is an urban myth, then NASA itself believes in it (and FWIW it wasn't a comma, it was a missing hyphen that caused the equation to be wrong/missing).
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    More detail here (though a Google search including "Squadron Supreme", the book's title, should turn up plenty of results):

    http://wc.arizona.edu/papers/91/12/09_2_m.html

    And BTW, I have that edition. Because I am just that awesome/creepy.
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  • "Ornamental Turkish illuminated manuscript". Really fantastic art design for a book.

    Thanks for the picture and source.

    Cihan
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    I thought it said "Got you nose!"
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    Beautifully scary photos!!!
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  • Dark roasted blend is an inspiration, how do people send you pictures, it must have taken you hours compiling this material
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    http://chemtrails911.com/
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  • Christopher is, of course, barking mad.

    "Chemtrails" are a conspiracy theory so utterly and obviously ridiculous that it's astounding anyone can even believe in them.
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  • Thanks for the Super Cool(ed) clouds.

    via digg
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  • Russell White (#23) should be the credited photographer on that second Roll Cloud picture fyi .. man i'm a cloud geek to know that!
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    Thanks!

    WannaSmile.com
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  • This is one I made some years ago in my country:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/tharasia/40520993/
    I call it OVNI (the spanish word for UFO).
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  • the "light sabers" thing happens to be extremely common near big airports. Pensacola has crossing con-trails (sp?) every single day.
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    http://schoonerhelm.vox.com/library/post/ribbon-in-the-sky.html
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    http://www.collthings.co.uk/2008/06/10-very-rare-clouds.html

    http://www.collthings.co.uk/2008/05/20-cool-clouds.html
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  • @ owr084
    Horsepower is a number derived from measured torque.
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    (Anytime you see a graph showing an engine's horsepower and torque curves you'll notice they cross at 5'252 RPM)
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    http://combinedfleet.com/ship.php?q=kaga_c.htm
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    I think I like the term "dieselpulp" and "steampulp" better, because they encompass more flavors than just the raw-edged *punk does. (See the most excellent Brass Goggles blog for 'steampulp' and other terms floating around.)

    http://brassgoggles.co.uk/brassgoggles/brief-steampunk-faq


    Check out the covers of Astounding and Analog magazines for some righteous dieselpulp (vacuum-tube-pulp?) eye-candy:

    http://www.coverbrowser.com/covers/astounding-stories


    And by all means check out Sharkit's Alterra universe:

    http://renax.club.fr/alterra1/_home/home.htm


    Open Skies and Safe Grounding!

    Up Ship!
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  • Thank you Steve,

    This is wonderful stuff - I especially like steampulp terminology: makes a lot more sense, but maybe not that recognizable to the general public.

    Thank you for the Cover Browser! Great resource.....
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  • Dieselpunk. I like the sound of that. Reminds me of engines and pipes.
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    http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Explorers_Record_Setters_and_Daredevils/turner/EX22.htm
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  • If I remember right the picture with the dinosaur and the lady is from an old Zucker, Zucker and Abrahms movie called "Amazon Women on the Moon".
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  • Also teh first clip is from a movie called "Gizmo!". It was one of my favorites when I was a kid. My brother and I wore the old VHS tape out watching it over and over again. I just checked amazon they have one "new" copy for sale for $150. Somebody really needs to get the masters and put that guy on DvD. It's truely an awesom movie.
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  • That is indeed from "Amazon Women on the Moon". It's from the "Bullsh*t or Not" sketch, lampooning the old "Unsolved Mysteries" TV show. In that particular "Bullsh*t Re-enactment", they were investigating whether Jack the Ripper was actually the Loch Ness Monster.
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  • Swim moose swim!!!!
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  • I found that pic with the lion on the wall of death too, and could not identify it... still can't, I can't find anything linking Roscoe Turner with the wall of death.
    Lions, however were fairly common on the walls.
    Lots of them were at it.. He might be "King", trained by the Pelaquin family, but maybe not.
    http://www.thrillarena.com/Lion_Dromes1/lion_dromes1.html

    http://www.wall-of-death.org/harris-1.htm

    http://gritinthegears.blogspot.com/2008/04/big-cat-blogging.html
    Read more

  • the Gizmo! video the first clip is from and Anon above mentions, which is now out of print, is available on Google video here:

    http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5592802075024518044&ei=GBlGSc2IIZHqqAOd5tibDA&q=gizmo&hl=en
    Read more

  • Great info, all - thank you - will update the page soon
    Read more

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  • Loved it (especially the photoshop recreation).

    I'd like to combat the assumption that all Extreme Geeks are male, though! x
    Read more

  • oh no; far from it
    Read more

  • Awesome pics. The keyboard with tacks is good for gamers like me.. Hahaha.. :D
    Read more

  • I think the pi car is lacking without including the plate:

    http://pdos.csail.mit.edu/~rsc/ahealy/pi_small.jpg
    Read more

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    This PI car remains a mystery :P
    Read more

  • actually have that bubble wrap calendar. and i think having more than 2 operating systems on your computer is getting pretty bad.
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  • Don't be bashing Tatjana Van Vark ! She is wayyy genius...EXPLORE HER SITE !
    Read more

  • I'm not sure where you see "Long Live the Policy of Army First!" in the North Korean art. On the wall behind her at the top of the bulletin, it says "Our Skill." The arch seen out the window looks like it says "We are happy" although I can't read the final symbol.
    Read more

  • Yes, Jon, it's visible in the window in the long line - here is the larger version - click
    Read more

  • I want a yacht like that!
    Read more


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