{Inter} Cultural Japan

What is the largest building in Tokyo? You never would guess: the Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway! This concrete monster on heavy pillars is now about 280 kilometers long and crawls like a mighty dinosaur through the metropolis. It runs along the third or fourth story of buildings, stamps on high legs through Tokyo’s pityful canals, splits into a multi-headed serpent, wriggling and squirming, twisting and turning, and in the end bites its own tail.

[Tokyo Expressway in Akasaka]

Due to its frequent traffic jams, locals call it the Slow-way rather than the Expressway. When you sit in a traffic jam, you can feel the whole structure swaying slightly… Since the earthquake in Kobe many pillars have been reinforced, and in fact, this is a building that requires constant attention and upkeep. New sections are also being built, now that japan has left the long recession behind it traffic in Tokyo is getting noticebly heavier again.