Daikoku Junction

The interchange where the Shuto Expressway Bayshore Route and Kanagawa Route 5 Daikoku Line meet, in Daikoku-futo, Yokohama. Its intricately curved ramp geometry, designed using differential geometry, forms a distinctive aerial pattern above one of Yokohama Port's main freight districts. Opened December 1994.

A Knot of Curves Over the Port

In Daikoku-futo, in Tsurumi Ward, Yokohama, the Shuto Expressway splits at a point where elevated ramps overlap and branch in several directions. This is Daikoku Junction — the interchange connecting the Bayshore Route (B) with Kanagawa Route 5 Daikoku Line, which runs from here to Namamugi Junction. Both routes reached their current configuration when they opened in December 1994.

What sets Daikoku Junction apart visually is the geometry of its ramps. The interchange was designed using differential geometry, a branch of mathematics that describes precisely curved surfaces and lines. The result is a tightly wound knot of compound curves that, viewed in satellite or aerial photography, reads less like a functional road structure and more like an abstract design. The shapes are a product of engineering necessity — fitting multiple connecting ramps into a confined waterfront site — but the outcome has a visual elegance that distinguishes it from most interchanges in the network.

Port, Logistics, and the Expressway

Daikoku-futo is one of Yokohama Port’s principal operational areas, home to large automotive terminals, container berths, and major distribution facilities. Daikoku Junction connects this logistics hub to the broader Shuto Expressway network, giving port traffic direct access to the Bay Bridge approach and routes into central Yokohama and beyond.

The Daikoku Parking Area, adjacent to the junction, is a familiar rest stop for drivers on the Bayshore Route and a vantage point for views across the working port. Approaching from the highway, the cranes and container stacks of Daikoku-futo fill the view — a reminder that the expressway here was built not just for commuters but for the constant freight movement that sustains the port economy. Shuto Expressway has listed Daikoku Junction among its signature interchanges, a recognition of how its ramp geometry stands out within the network.

Summary

Daikoku Junction, in Tsurumi Ward, Yokohama, connects the Bayshore Route (B) and Kanagawa Route 5 Daikoku Line and took on its current form in December 1994. Its differential-geometry ramp design produces one of the more intricate aerial silhouettes in the Shuto Expressway network. The clearest way to appreciate it is from above — in satellite imagery or from an observation point — though driving through it, toward the Yokohama Bay Bridge or back toward the city, lets you feel the carefully calculated curves firsthand.

Related: Shuto Expressway Bayshore Route (B) / Hakozaki Junction

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