Kanmon Straits

The straits are approximately 700 meters wide between Shimonoseki City and Moji Ward, Kitakyushu City. The direction of the current changes four times a day due to the ebb and flow of the tide.

The narrowest part of the strait is only about 500 meters wide, and the S-shaped bend of the strait makes visibility difficult, and the currents are fast, leaving many reefs and reefs in its path.

Despite the constant accidents, it has been an important route connecting Honshu and Kyushu, as well as Japan and the Asian continent, since ancient times.

Even today, approximately 700 vessels of all sizes come and go daily, and the sounds of the tides and steam whistles that gently color the scenery have been selected by the Environment Agency as one of the “100 Soundscapes of Japan to Preserve”.

In terms of land transportation, due to the narrowness of the straits, undersea tunnels and bridges were constructed at a relatively early stage, and a total of four tunnels and bridges (three undersea tunnels and one bridge) connect Honshu and Kyushu.

The Kanmon Bridge, a suspension bridge used as an expressway
The Kanmon National Highway Tunnel, an undersea tunnel for roadway and humanitarian use on the toll road
The Kanmon Railway Tunnel, an undersea tunnel for the Sanyo Main Line railroad
Shin Kanmon Tunnel, an undersea tunnel for the Sanyo Shinkansen railroad