Japan's Historic Tunnels

About this book

Written and produced in Japan by Aki Wakamatsu. Japan is mountains standing in the sea — and its modern history is the story of boring through them. This complete guide covers 200 tunnels, passes and engineering landmarks nationwide: the Seikan and Kanmon undersea crossings, the hand-dug Nakayama Tunnel, Meiji brick bores at Usui and Tanna, the Kurobe Dam's Kanden Tunnel, gorge and coastal tunnel chains from Shakotan to Ashizuri, irrigation and silver-mine tunnels, and the historic passes the tunnels replaced. Every entry follows one format — The Tunnel / History & Engineering / Visiting & Access / Safety & Notes — states plainly whether you can walk, ride, drive or only view from outside, and never asserts current passability: each entry ends with an official-check instruction. Includes a How to Read a Tunnel introduction, practical chapters on closures and walkable bores, five model itineraries and a glossary. Honest count: the 200 are tunnels, hand-dug passages, undersea crossings, canal/mine tunnels open to viewing, and pass/viewpoint landmarks tied to a tunnel crossing; closed and portal-only sites are labelled as such.