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| Japan 500 Yen coin |
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| Japan 500 Yen, Seto Bridge Opening |
Obverse: Perspective birdview of the Great Seto Bridge.
Reverse: Map of the isles of Japan connected by the bridge, within band.
The Great Seto Bridge (瀬戸大橋 Seto Ōhashi?), or Seto-Ohashi Bridge[citation needed], is a series of double deck bridges connecting Okayama and Kagawa prefectures in Japan across a series of five small islands in the Seto Inland Sea. Built over the period 1978–88, it is one of the three routes of the Honshū-Shikoku Bridge Project connecting Honshū and Shikoku islands. At 13.1 kilometers (8.1 mi), it ranks as the world's longest two-tiered bridge system.
Reference: KM-94.
Minnt Year: 1988 (year 63)
Material: Copper-Nickel
Weight: 13.02 gm
Diameter: 30 mm
Crossing the bridge takes about 20 minutes by car or train. The ferry crossing before the bridge was built took about an hour. The non-discounted toll from Kojima, Kurashiki (Okayama Prefecture on the Honshu side) to Sakaide (Kagawa Prefecture on the Shikoku side) is ¥3,500, and vice-versa.
The bridges carry two lanes of highway traffic in each direction (Seto-Chūō Expressway) on the upper deck and one railway track in each direction (Seto-Ōhashi Line) on the lower deck. The lower deck was designed to accommodate an additional Shinkansen rail line in each direction.