Gallery - Nihombashi bridge, Tokyo

When we heard last week that work to remove a section of Tokyo’s Metropolitan Expressway which passes over the Nihombashi bridge had begun, we wasted little time in getting down to the historic bridge to take some photographs while the section of guilty expressway largely remains in place. The daft irony of rushing to take in the bridge framed by what has been seen by many as an urban eyesore that they’ve been wanting rid of for decades was not lost on us, not least because there really is no rush. Removal of the expressway isn’t expected to reach completion until March 2041. Development of the Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway, also known as “shutoko,” began in the early 1960s with eyes on the 1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo. The section passing over the Nihombashi bridge was completed in 1963. We don’t know what kind of place Nihombashi was in the 1960s but today the area is arguably the picture of urban civility with the upmarket department stores Mitsukoshi and Takashimaya projecting their finery over the city blocks north and south of the Nihombashi River, with the historic bridge (and overpass) in the heart of it all. (Nihombashi bridge, Tokyo. June 25, 2022.) The Nihombashi bridge dates back to 1603 and became the point of origin for Japan’s five major “highways” - the Tokaido, Nakasendo, Nikko Kaido, Oshu Kaido, and Koshu Kaido. The bridge in its current guise was constructed in 1911. The Nihombashi River area has been, and continues to be, earmarked for a number of urban renewal projects under Japan’s National Strategic Special Zones initiative - established in 2013 and aimed at stimulating economic growth through projects carried out jointly by the central and local governments and the private sector. The result for some then, is that Nihombashi might be seen as staid and stuffy - me in my 20s. For others the area might be the picture of sensible and calm urban planning bliss - me in my 40s. However you view the scene today, the section of the shutoko dominating Nihombashi bridge really doesn’t fit, aesthetically at least. Perhaps it would be better suited to the surrounds of a Shinjuku or Shibuya - slap it up in a bit of neon and it could blend seamlessly into the urban planning anathema. While it is maybe something of an eyesore, the overpass is perhaps quintessentially Japanese, the perfect example of planners in Japan so often appearing to prioritize function over form. Convenience over aesthetics. I for one though, have so often been quick to gush over Japan’s sleek infrastructure and getting-from-A-to-B efficiency. Perhaps the Nihombashi bridge has just been another case of collateral damage to this end, testament that very little in Japan, not even a structure of significant historical value and a designated Important Cultural Property, is safe from having a major work of construction come and park itself just a few feet away. The sight of the bridge's beautiful lamps - which rise up from statues of mythical kirin beasts - surrounded on all sides by expressway lanes is as unfortunate as it is remarkable. It’s the equivalent of an annoying school friend who keeps waving a hand in front of your face all the while, quite rightly, claiming that they’re not touching you. (Lamps on Nihombashi bridge come up for air between the expressway overpass. June 25, 2022.) Today, while much of Nihombashi stands tall, refitted and neatly pressed, the overpass crumbles. It’s dangerously damaged after bearing the load of the some 100,000 vehicles that have roared along it each day for nearly half a century, according to Metropolitan Expressway Co., the operators of shutoko. It really is time then for the overpass to go, if it hasn’t already been in the eyes of many people for many years now. In 2005, then Prime Minister of Japan Junichiro Koizumi invited experts to study the possibility of restoring the sky over Nihombashi, leading to the formation in 2006 of the association known as the Nihombashi Michi Kaigi - full name, the Association to Restore the Sky to the Nihombashi River (日本橋川に空を取り戻す会 - Nihombashi-kawa ni sora wo torimodosu kai). The association would submit a proposal for the regeneration of the area later that year. It wasn’t until 2012, however, that an expert committee on the revitalization of the Metropolitan Expressway compiled recommendations that proposed removing the aging overpass and directing much of the Nihombashi section of the expressway underground. In July 2017 the then Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Keiichi Ishiii and the Governor of Tokyo Yuriko Koike announced that they would work toward taking the Metropolitan Expressway around Nihombashi underground. “The Metropolitan Expressway has deteriorated and has damaged the urban landscape and comfort of the city. A typical example of this is over the Nihombashi bridge,” Ishii told reporters at a press conference following the announcement. “For more than 10 years local residents have proposed and requested that the Metropolitan Expressway be moved underground in order to bring back the blue sky over Nihombashi.” The plan for the overpass and area around the bridge will eventually see the reformation of a 1.8-km stretch of the shutoko between Kandabashi and Edobashi junctions. This will include a tunnel approximately 1.1km in length and a 0.4-km stretch of elevated expressway. The tunnel will be less susceptible to vibrations and more earthquake resistant, according to Metropolitan Expressway Co. In preparation for construction work on the underground stretch of the project, two expressway entrances in the area were closed in May 2021 ahead of their removal. Removal of the overpass marks the third phase of construction, restoration of the sky over the Nihombashi River. (Work underway to remove the expressway overpass above Nihombashi bridge. June 25, 2022.) The first section of the Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway, a 4.5-km stretch from Kyobashi to Shibaura, was completed in December 1962. Today, the total length of shutoko is approximately 327.2 km. It accounts for around 15 percent of the roads in the 23 wards of the Tokyo metropolitan area. The Metropolitan Expressway is aging, however, with more than 60 percent of the total length of the network having been in service for more than 30 years. Work on the Nihombashi section is part of the Shutoko Renewal Project which, since 2014, has been carrying out large-scale renewal and repair work on a number of sections of the expressway, a transport infrastructure seen as vital in the event of a disaster.