Shin-Kanmon Tunnel, Railway tunnel in Shimonoseki, Japan
The Shin-Kanmon Tunnel is a railway passage running beneath the Kanmon Strait, connecting Honshu and Kyushu through an underground route. The structure stretches approximately 18.7 kilometers, with the section under the water descending roughly 66 meters below the ocean surface.
The tunnel opened in 1975 as Japan's longest railway tunnel at the time, a record it held until another project surpassed it years later. Its completion marked a turning point in connecting the two islands by rail for the first time.
The tunnel links two major islands and serves thousands of daily travelers moving between the regions. For people living on either side, it transformed how communities connect and made visiting relatives or conducting business across the strait far simpler.
Train rides through the tunnel are brief and part of regular service between the two regions. Simply book a normal train between Shimonoseki and Kitakyushu; no special arrangements are needed to experience this passage.
Inside the tunnel sits Japan's only distance marker for the 1000-kilometer point of the rail network. This special marker is positioned roughly at the tunnel's midpoint and is rarely noticed by passengers traveling through.
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