Meishin Expressway

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The , or Nagoya-Kōbe Expressway 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 ().

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

Template:RJL 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
24	Komaki IC	File:Japanese National Route Sign 0041.svgNational Route 41 (Meinō Bypass) File:Japanese Urban Expwy Sign 0011.svgNagoya 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	File:Japanese National Route Sign 0022.svgNational Route 22 (Meigi Bypass) File:Japanese Urban Expwy Sign 0016.svgNagoya ExpresswayRoute 16 (Ichinomiya Route)	355.0
25-1	Ichinomiya JCT	File:JP Expressway E41.svg Tōkai-Hokuriku Expressway File:Japan road sign 325.svgIchinomiya Nishikō Road (Planned)	359.4
BS	Bisai Bus stop		362.9	X
BR	Kisogawa Bridge
						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
						Anpachi
BS	Ampachi Bus stop		371.3	X
25-3	Ampachi SIC		371.6
BR	Kisogawa Bridge
						Ogaki
26	Ogaki IC	File:Japanese National Route Sign 0258.svgNational Route 258	374.9	S
26-1	Yoro JCT	File:JP Expressway C3.svg 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	File:Japanese National Route Sign 0365.svgNational Route 365	389.4			Sekigahara
TN	Imasu Tunnel				eastbound: westbound:
TN	Sekigahara Tunnel				eastbound: westbound:
						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	File:JP Expressway E8.svg Hokuriku Expressway	405.5
TN	Maibara Tunnel				eastbound: westbound:
						Hikone
TN	Hikone Tunnel				eastbound: westbound:
28	Hikone IC	File:Japanese National Route Sign 0306.svgNational 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	File:Japanese National Route Sign 0421.svgNational 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	File:Japanese National Route Sign 0477.svgNational 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	File:Japanese National Route Sign 0008.svgNational Route 8 File:Japanese National Route Sign 0008.svgYasu Ritto Bypass (planned) File:Japanese National Route Sign 0001.svgNational 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	File:JP Expressway E1A.svgShin-Meishin Expressway Otsu Connection Route	464.4
PA	Kusatsu PA		465.6
						Otsu
30-2	Seta-higashi JCT/IC	E88 Keiji Bypass (toll route) File:Japanese National Route Sign 0001.svgNational 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
31	Otsu IC/SA	Pref. Route 56 (Otsu Interchange Route)	474.6	X
TN	Otsu Tunnel				eastbound: westbound:
BR	Semimaru Bridge
TN	Semimaru Tunnel				eastbound: westbound:
32	Kyoto-higashi IC	Pref. Route 143 (Shinomiya Yotsuzuka Route, Sanjo Street) File:Japanese National Route Sign 0001.svgNational Route 1 (Gojo Bypass) File:Japanese National Route Sign 0161.svgNational 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	File:Japanese National Route Sign 0001.svgNational 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	File:JP Expressway E9.svg Kyoto Jukan Expressway E88 Keiji Bypass File:Japanese National Route Sign 0171.svgNational Route 171	495.7	S	Left Route	Oyamazaki
TN	Tennozan Tunnel				eastbound Right Route: eastbound Left Route: westbound Right Route: westbound Left Route:
						Shimamoto	Osaka
TN	Kajiwara Tunnel				Kajiwara Daini Tunnel eastbound Right Route: Kajiwara Daini Tunnel eastbound Left Route: Kajiwara Daini Tunnel westbound Right Route: Kajiwara Tunnel westbound Left Route: Kajiwara Daiichi Tunnel eastbound Right Route: Kajiwara Daiichi Tunnel eastbound Left Route: Kajiwara Daiichi Tunnel westbound Right Route:
						Takatsuki
PA	Sakurai PA		503.5		Abandoned in March 1998
11	Takatsuki JCT/IC	File:JP Expressway E1A.svgShin-Meishin Expressway Osaka Pref. Route 79 (Fushimi-Yanagitani-Takatsuki Route)	504.0
BS	Takatsuki Bus stop		506.3	S
34	Ibaraki IC	File:Japanese National Route Sign 0171.svgNational Route 171	511.7	S		Ibaraki
35	Suita JCT/IC	File:JP Expressway E2A.svg Chugoku Expressway File:JP Expressway E26.svg Kinki Expressway Pref. Route 2 (Osaka Chuo Kanjosen)	514.5		Chugoku Expwy←→Nishinomiya: no access	Suita
SA	Suita SA		517.8
TN	Senriyama Tunnel
						Toyonaka
36	Toyonaka IC	File:Hanshin Urban Expwy Sign 0011.svg 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	File:Hanshin Urban Expwy Sign 0003.svg Hanshin Expressway Kobe Route (for Kobe) File:Japanese National Route Sign 0043.svg 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