Misplaced Pages

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15-675: The Kanmon Railway Tunnel ( 関門鉄道トンネル , kanmon tetsudō tonneru ) was the first undersea tunnel in Japan. It goes underneath the Kanmon Straits , connecting the islands of Honshu and Kyushu . It is an important link in the Japanese rail network . Its construction began in 1936, and it was completed in November 1942, during the Pacific War . The Honshu-bound tunnel is 3,604 m (11,824 ft) long,

30-406: Is 2,500 by 60 m (8,202 by 197 ft) (with a separate taxiway of 2,500 by 30 m (8,202 by 98 ft)), enough to accommodate Boeing 747s and other large jet aircraft. The manmade island on which the airport is built is 4,125 m (13,533 ft) long and 900 m (2,953 ft) wide (3.73 km (1.44 sq mi)). Due to the island's size and the relative shallowness of

45-461: Is a number of Kanmon Tunnels which carry the Sanyō Shinkansen , trains, cars, and even one for pedestrians at the narrowest point. The first railway tunnel was opened on November 15, 1942. The highway tunnel was opened on March 9, 1958. The Kanmonkyo Bridge (see photo) was opened to vehicles on November 14, 1973. The Shinkansen tunnel was opened on March 10, 1975. The Kanmon straits is also

60-597: Is held in August every year. The Voyager pleasure boat departs from Moji-kō and cruises the straits. Helicopter joyrides are available from Kaikyo Dramaship in Moji-kō. In October 2005, one of the world's largest airships currently flying (a Zeppelin NT imported from Germany) also passed through Moji on an all-Japan tour. This airship was purchased by Nippon Airship Corporation in June 2004 and

75-435: Is the fourth airport in Japan to begin operating 24 hours a day, after New Chitose Airport ( Sapporo ), Kansai International Airport ( Osaka ), and Chubu Centrair International Airport ( Nagoya ). The former Kitakyushu Airport had restrictions on aircraft operation due to its small size and location, close to mountains and residential areas. Heavy fog often resulted in flight cancellations. There were similar problems at

90-545: Is the stretch of water separating Honshu and Kyushu , two of Japan's four main islands. On the Honshu side of the strait is Shimonoseki ( 下関 , which contributed "Kan" ( 関 ) to the name of the strait) and on the Kyushu side is Kitakyushu , whose former city and present ward, Moji ( 門司 ), gave the strait its "mon" ( 門 ). The straits silt up at the rate of about 15 centimetres per annum, and dredging has made it possible to build

105-580: The Kitakyushu Airport at low cost. Western maps from the 19th century also refer to this waterway as the Straits of Van der Capellen . The total population of the Kanmon area is about 1.3 million, counting the whole of Kitakyushu (approx. one million) and Shimonoseki (approx. 300,000), although detailed definitions vary widely (see Fukuoka–Kitakyushu ). The Kanmon Straits Summer Fireworks Festival

120-564: The Kyushu-bound tunnel is 3,614 m (11,857 ft). Track gauge is 1,067 mm ( 3 ft 6 in ) ( Cape gauge ), and its electric power supply is at 1,500 volts DC . Near the end of the Pacific War the Allies planned to blow up the two tunnels with 50,000 pounds of explosives as part of the invasion of Japan . The Office of Strategic Services trained 250 of its agents for

135-477: The airport. A committee to promote the construction of the new airport was founded in 1978, with the governor of Fukuoka as chairman. Construction began in October 1994. The new airport was anticipated by residents in and around the cities of Kitakyushu and Shimonoseki . The Kitakyushu municipal government organized bus tours to the construction site for interested citizens in an attempt to defuse controversy over

150-612: The connection between the Sea of Japan and the Inland Sea . It is used by many cargo ships as a shortcut to Osaka and Tokyo from Korea and China. The New Kitakyushu Airport is also nearby. The New Kitakyushu Airport opened in Kitakyushu on March 16, 2006, and is expected to bring further prosperity in the form of increased tourism and trade to the area. Ferries from Shimonoseki Port International Terminal: New Kitakyushu Airport It

165-477: The construction. The airport officially opened on March 16, 2006. The first aircraft to land at the airport was a StarFlyer Airbus on March 26, 2006. The first international flight from Shanghai landed on March 30, 2006. A Korean low-cost carrier , Jeju Air , flew eight charter flights from Kitakyushu to Incheon International Airport in summer 2008. Scheduled service on the route started in March 2009. The runway

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180-403: The nearby Fukuoka Airport , which cannot engage in nighttime operations due to proximity to residential areas. A new airport was intended to be free from such problems due to its offshore location, making possible 24-hour operation. Large cargo planes can use the airport, making possible convenient freight movement to and from nearby industrial zones. Toyota has a factory just across the bay from

195-500: The surrounding water, which is about 7 m (23 ft) in depth, the expansion is being conducted, starting with a 500 m (1,600 ft) runway extension to 3,000 by 30 m (9,843 by 98 ft)). Construction to extend the runway to 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) began in December 2023. Completion is scheduled for August 2027. The airline StarFlyer has its head office on the airport property. A 2.1 km toll-free bridge connects

210-486: The task, but the surrender of Japan occurred before they were needed. The Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) assumed ownership of this tunnel following the breakup of the Japanese National Railways system in 1987. This tunnel-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Kanmon Straits The Kanmon Straits ( 関門海峡 , Kanmon-kaikyō ) or the Straits of Shimonoseki

225-509: Was used in the Tokyo area and at the Aichi Expo 2005 . The Kanmon Straits can be crossed in a number of ways, the oldest of which are the ferries. There is a car ferry between Nishiminato (Kokura) and Hikinoshima (Shimonoseki) which takes about ten minutes, and a passenger ferry from Moji-ko to Shimonoseki (Karato wharf). There is also a bridge which carries an expressway. By far the most used method

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