The , officially the , is a road connecting Kure, Hiroshima to seven of the Geiyo Islands in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan.
Route The route spans , with a maximum altitude difference of . Along its length are seven bridges with a cumulative length of , connecting the islands of Shimokamagari, , , Ōsakishimojima, and before terminating at Okamura Island. The seventh of the bridges, Okamura Bridge, crosses the border from Hiroshima Prefecture to Ehime Prefecture. The entire route has gentle gradients, marked cycle lanes and is equipped with five designated cycle stations, making this a popular cycling destination.
An eighth bridge connecting Okamura to Ōsakikamijima is planned, but construction has not started. An alternative series of bridges to Ōmishima Island has also been proposed. Currently, there are ferry services from Okamura to Ōmishima and the city of Imabari, Ehime in Shikoku.
Nickname After a public naming competition that received 3,118 entries, the route was given the official nickname Akinada Tobishima Kaidō in 2008. Akinada (Aki Sea) is the open expanse west of the Geiyo Islands, while tobishima comes from tobi-ishi (飛び石), the Japanese name for stepping stones in a garden. The route is also unofficially known as the after the nearby Shimanami Kaido expressway, which connects Onomichi (Hiroshima) and Imabari (Ehime), going through nine of the Geiyo Islands, including Ōshima, Ōmishima, and Innoshima.
Bridges NameJapaneseConnectingOpenedLengthTypeNotes1Akinada Bridge安芸灘大橋Honshu - Shimokamagari18 Jan 20001175 mThree-span, two-hinge suspension bridge2Kamagari Bridge蒲刈大橋Shimokamagari - KamikamagariOctober 1979480 mThree-span two-continuous truss bridge3Toyoshima Bridge豊島大橋Kamikamagari - Toyoshima18 Nov 2008903 mSingle span suspension bridgeAlso known as Abi Bridge (アビ大橋)4Toyohama Bridge豊浜大橋Toyoshima-Osakishimojima30 Nov 1992543 mThree-span continuous truss bridge5Heira Bridge平羅橋Osakishimojima - Herashima199598.5 mCable-stayed bridgeAlso known as the "Orange Line" (オレンジライン)6Nakanoseto Bridge中の瀬戸大橋Herashima - Nakanoshima6 November 1998251 mArch bridge7Okamura Bridge岡村大橋Nakanoshima - Okamura Island1995228 mArch bridgeFuture connection planned to Ōmishima Island8（planned）Okamura Island - Osakikamijima - - -Planning phase, no date for start of construction
References
External links
The Seven Bridges of Tobishima 安芸灘大橋有料道路