Meishin Expressway

The Meishin Expressway (名神高速道路, Meishin Kōsoku-dōro), or Nagoya-Kōbe Expressway 193.9 kilometres (120.5 mi) is a toll expressway in Japan. It runs from a junction with the Tōmei Expressway in Komaki, Aichi (outside Nagoya) west to Nishinomiya, Hyōgo (between Osaka and Kobe). 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. East of the Chūgoku Expressway near Osaka, it is part of Asian Highway Network ( AH1).

Meishin Expressway
名神高速道路
Route information
Part of AH1
Maintained by the Central Nippon Expressway Company and the West Nippon Expressway Company
Length	193.9 km (120.5 mi)
Existed	July 16, 1963–present
Major junctions
East end	Tōmei Expressway in Komaki, Aichi
West end	Kobe Route in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo
Location
Country	Japan
Highway system
National highways of Japan Expressways of Japan

The part east of interchange 29 (Yōkaichi) is owned by the Central Nippon Expressway Company; the rest is owned by the West Nippon Expressway Company.

History

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

The Meishin Expressway parallels the old Nakasendō between Kyoto and Nagoya, now Route 8 and Route 21. The Meihan National Highway is a mostly non-tolled freeway between Osaka and Nagoya, lying further south and built to lower standards. The Shin-Meishin Expressway 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 (via the Isewangan Expressway) and the Sanyō Expressway. It roughly parallels the old Tōkaidō (Route 1).

During the Great Hanshin earthquake of January 17, 1995, the Meishin Expressway suffered light damage but could only be used by emergency vehicles 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.

• IC - interchange, SIC - smart interchange, JCT - junction, PA - parking area, SA - service area, TN - tunnel, BS - Bus stop (S - open, X - closed)

No.	Name	Connections	Dist. (km) from Tokyo	Bus Stop	Notes	Location
Through to Tōmei Expressway
24	Komaki IC	National Route 41 (Meinō Bypass) Nagoya ExpresswayRoute 11 (Komaki Route)	346.7			Komaki	Aichi
BS	Iwakura Bus stop		350.7	X		Iwakura
PA	Owari-Ichionomiya PA		353.2 352.4			Ichinomiya
25	Ichinomiya IC	National Route 22 (Meigi Bypass) Nagoya ExpresswayRoute 16 (Ichinomiya Route)	355.0
25-1	Ichinomiya JCT	Tōkai-Hokuriku Expressway Ichinomiya Nishikō Road (Planned)	359.4
BS	Bisai Bus stop		362.9	X
BR	Kisogawa Bridge				1,014 m (3,327 ft)
						Hashima	Gifu
PA	Hashima PA		366.0	X	PA: westbound only
25-2	Gifu-Hashima IC	Pref. Route 46 (Gifu-Hashima Interchange Route)	368.1
BR	Nagaragawa Bridge				630 m (2,070 ft)
						Anpachi
BS	Ampachi Bus stop		371.3	X
25-3	Ampachi SIC		371.6
BR	Kisogawa Bridge				349 m (1,145 ft)
						Ogaki
26	Ogaki IC	National Route 258	374.9	S
26-1	Yoro JCT	Tōkai-Kanjō Expressway	378.5			Yoro
BS	Yoroguchi Bus stop		379.6	X
26-2	Yoro SA/SIC		381.7
PA	Kami-Ishizu PA		388.1		westbound only abandoned on December 20, 2001	Ogaki
27	Sekigahara IC	National Route 365	389.4			Sekigahara
TN	Imasu Tunnel				eastbound: 380 m (1,250 ft) westbound: 400 m (1,300 ft)
TN	Sekigahara Tunnel				eastbound: 223 m (732 ft) westbound: 240 m (790 ft)
						Maibara	Shiga
BS	Santo Bus stop		396.8	X
PA	Ibuki PA		398.0 398.8
BS	Maibara Bus stop		403.7	X
27-1	Maibara JCT	Hokuriku Expressway	405.5
TN	Maibara Tunnel				eastbound: 170 m (560 ft) westbound: 150 m (490 ft)
						Hikone
TN	Hikone Tunnel				eastbound: 430 m (1,410 ft) westbound: 427 m (1,401 ft)
28	Hikone IC	National Route 306	413.4	X
SA	Taga SA		418.0	S		Taga
PA	Kora PA		421.3	X	abandoned on September 29, 2005	Kora
28-1	Koto-Sanzan PA/SIC	Pref. Route 344 (Koto-Sanzan Interchange Route)	424.6 424.3	X		Aisho
BS	Hyakusaiji Bus stop		428.2	S		Higashiomi
29	Yokaichi IC	National Route 421 Pref. Route 327 (Koto-Yokaichi Route)	434.6	S
PA	Kuromaru PA		438.0
BS	Gamo Bus stop		440.4	X
29-1	Gamo SIC	Pref. Route 41 (Tsuchiyama Gamo Omihachiman Route)	441.2
BS	Ryuo Bus stop		443.6	X		Ryuo
29-2	Ryuo IC	National Route 477	447.2
PA	Bodaiji PA		451.7 451.9	S		Konan
BR	Yasugawa Bridge
						Ritto
29-3	Ritto-Konan IC	Koka Konan Road	457.0		Koka Konan Road←→Nagoya: no access
30	Ritto IC	National Route 8 Yasu Ritto Bypass (planned) National Route 1 Pref. Route 55 (Kamitoyama Kamimagari Route)	458.2	X	Japan's first expressway route (to Amagasaki): opened on July 16, 1963
BS	Kusatsu Bus stop		461.7	X		Kusatsu
30-1	Kusatsu JCT	Shin-Meishin Expressway Otsu Connection Route	464.4
PA	Kusatsu PA		465.6
						Otsu
30-2	Seta-higashi JCT/IC	Keiji Bypass (toll route) National Route 1 (Keiji Bypass free route)	467.5		westbound exit, eastbound entrance
	Seta-nishi IC/Bus stop	Pref. Route 57 (Seta-nishi Interchange Route)	469.0	X	eastbound exit, westbound entrance
BR	Setagawa Bridge				500 m (1,600 ft)
31	Otsu IC/SA	Pref. Route 56 (Otsu Interchange Route)	474.6	X
TN	Otsu Tunnel				eastbound: 430 m (1,410 ft) westbound: 418 m (1,371 ft)
BR	Semimaru Bridge				62 m (203 ft)
TN	Semimaru Tunnel				eastbound: 387 m (1,270 ft) westbound: 376 m (1,234 ft)
32	Kyoto-higashi IC	Pref. Route 143 (Shinomiya Yotsuzuka Route, Sanjo Street) National Route 1 (Gojo Bypass) National Route 161 (Nishi-Otsu Bypass)	477.9			Yamashina-ku, Kyoto	Kyoto
BS	Yamashina Bus stop		481.0	X
BS	Fukakusa Bus stop		486.0	S		Fushimi-ku, Kyoto
-	Kyoto-minami JCT	Second Keihan Highway			planned for 2021
33	Kyoto-minami IC	National Route 1 (Keihan National Road)	487.6		entrances, westbound exit
33-1					eastbound 1st exit
33-2					eastbound 2nd exit
BR	Katsuragawa Bridge
PA	Katsuragawa PA		490.4
33-3	Oyamazaki JCT/IC	Kyoto Jukan Expressway Keiji Bypass National Route 171	495.7	S	Left Route	Oyamazaki
TN	Tennozan Tunnel				eastbound Right Route: 1,718 m (5,636 ft) eastbound Left Route: 2,010 m (6,590 ft) westbound Right Route: 1,488 m (4,882 ft) westbound Left Route: 1,440 m (4,720 ft)
						Shimamoto	Osaka
TN	Kajiwara Tunnel				Kajiwara Daini Tunnel eastbound Right Route: 180 m (590 ft) Kajiwara Daini Tunnel eastbound Left Route: 180 m (590 ft) Kajiwara Daini Tunnel westbound Right Route: 150 m (490 ft) Kajiwara Tunnel westbound Left Route: 870 m (2,850 ft) Kajiwara Daiichi Tunnel eastbound Right Route: 740 m (2,430 ft) Kajiwara Daiichi Tunnel eastbound Left Route: 700 m (2,300 ft) Kajiwara Daiichi Tunnel westbound Right Route: 820 m (2,690 ft)
						Takatsuki
PA	Sakurai PA		503.5		Abandoned in March 1998
11	Takatsuki JCT/IC	Shin-Meishin Expressway Osaka Pref. Route 79 (Fushimi-Yanagitani-Takatsuki Route)	504.0
BS	Takatsuki Bus stop		506.3	S
34	Ibaraki IC	National Route 171	511.7	S		Ibaraki
35	Suita JCT/IC	Chugoku Expressway Kinki Expressway Pref. Route 2 (Osaka Chuo Kanjosen)	514.5		Chugoku Expwy←→Nishinomiya: no access	Suita
SA	Suita SA		517.8
TN	Senriyama Tunnel				508 m (1,667 ft)
						Toyonaka
36	Toyonaka IC	Hanshin Expressway Route 11 Ikeda Line Pref. Route 10 (Osaka Ikeda Route)	524.5
BR	Inagawa Bridge					Amagasaki	Hyogo
37	Amagasaki IC	Pref. Route 13 (Amagasaki Ikeda Route)	529.4		Japan's first expressway route (to Ritto): opened on July 16, 1963
BR	Mukogawa Bridge
						Nishinomiya
38	Nishinomiya IC	Hanshin Expressway Kobe Route (for Kobe) National Route 43	536.2
Meishin-Wangan Connection Route (planned)

See also

• Central Nippon Expressway Company
• West Nippon Expressway Company
• Transport in Greater Nagoya
• Transport in Keihanshin