Tokyo Expressway

The Tokyo Expressway (東京高速道路, Tōkyō Kōsoku Dōro), also known as the KK Route, is a 14.8-kilometer-long (9.2 mi) untolled expressway in central Tokyo owned and maintained by Tokyo Skyway Company (Tōkyō Kōsoku Dōro K.K.). It is signed as D8 It runs in a semicircular loop around the Ginza district of Chūō-ku. The loop is closed by part of the Inner Circular Route of the Shuto Expressway.

History

In 1951, 23 business leaders founded the Tokyo Expressway Company Limited with the goal of revitalizing Ginza after the war and easing congestion of automobile traffic. The expressway was built upon infill of the outer moat surrounding Ginza. Portions of the highway were opened in 1959, making it the oldest expressway in Japan. The Tokyo Expressway was completed in 1966. In December 2023, it was decided by the Tokyo Expressway Company that the entire route would be permanently closed in April 2025 with the exception of the portion of the expressway connecting the Inner Circular Route to the Higashi-Ginza exit. The closure is slated to convert the elevated expressway into an elevated pedestrian zone by 2040.

List of interchanges

The entire expressway is in Tokyo.

Location	km	mi	Exit	Name	Destinations	Notes
Through to Inner Circular Route
Chūō	0.0	0.0	—	Shiodome Toll Gate	Yaesu Route – to Haneda	Southern terminus of the Tokyo Expressway; highway continues as the Shiodome spur of the Yaesu Route to Shiodome Junction
	0.0	0.0	1	Shinbashi	Tokyo Metropolitan Route 316 (Shōwa-dōri) / Gomon-dōri	Entrance only from Tokyo Metropolitan Route 316, exit only to Gomon-dōri
	0.5	0.31	2	Dobashi	Tokyo Metropolitan Route 405	Entrance only from Tokyo Metropolitan Route 405
	1.4	0.87	—	Nishi-Ginza	Yaesu Route – to Kita-Ikebukuro	Northbound exit, southbound entrance
	1.4	0.87	3	Nishi-Ginza	Yanagi-dōri / Ginza Sakura-dōri	Entrance only from Yanagi-dōri
	1.7	1.1	4	Shinkyobashi	Tokyo Metropolitan Route 316 (Shōwa-dōri)	Northbound exit
	1.9	1.2	5	Higashi-Ginza	Tokyo Metropolitan Route 316 (Shōwa-dōri)	Southbound exit
	2.0	1.2	—	Shirauobashi Toll Gate	Inner Circular Route – Ueno, Kandabashi	Northern terminus of the Tokyo Expressway; highway continues as the Kyobashi spur of the Inner Circular Route to Kyobashi Junction
Through to Inner Circular Route
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access       Route transition

Notes

• The 0.3 km segment between Shiodome Junction and the Shinbashi exit is technically part of the Shuto Expressway system (designated as part of the Yaesu Route).
• The 0.1 km segment between Kyobashi Junction and the Higashi-ginza exit is also part of the Shuto Expressway system and is designated as a branch line of the Inner Circular Route (Planning Route No. 8)

External links

• Official web site (in Japanese)