Bayshore Route (B)

A 62.1-kilometre arc of expressway tracing Tokyo Bay from Yokohama to Ichikawa in Chiba, opened in stages between 1976 and 2001. The route links Haneda Airport, Odaiba, Toyosu, and the port logistics zones of Kawasaki in one continuous corridor.

A Highway That Follows the Tide

Drive the Bayshore Route and you trace the outline of Tokyo Bay itself. Route B — officially the Shuto Expressway Bayshore Route — runs approximately 62.1 kilometres from Yokohama to Takaya Junction in Ichikawa, Chiba. Within Tokyo, the route spans roughly 32 kilometres through Ota, Shinagawa, Koto, and Edogawa wards, connecting the port logistics zones of Kawasaki, Haneda Airport, and the reclaimed-land neighbourhoods of Odaiba and Toyosu in a single unbroken arc.

The history begins underground. On 12 August 1976, the Tokyo Port Tunnel opened, carrying the first 2.8 kilometres of what would become the Bayshore Route through the harbour floor using an immersed-tube construction method — a technology that sinks prefabricated tunnel sections onto the seabed. Successive sections extended the route: the Yokohama Bay Bridge and Daikoku Junction linked in 1989; the Tsurumi Tsubasa Bridge (1,020 m, a single-plane cable-stayed structure of world scale) and Tama River Tunnel opened in December 1994. On 22 October 2001, the full 62.1-kilometre route opened.

Logistics and Landscape Along the Bay

The Bayshore Route carries two distinct kinds of traffic. For freight, it is a spine. Oi Junction connects C2 inbound; Kawasaki Ukishima Junction gives access to the Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line toward Chiba; the Airport-Chuo interchange leads directly to Haneda International Airport. The logistics platforms of Higashi-Ohgishima in Kawasaki operate around the clock, and the warehouse districts along the route handle a substantial share of the metropolitan area’s food distribution. Arimake, Shinonome, and Tatsumi junctions branch into the Daiba, Harumi, and Fukagawa lines, fanning the radial network outward through the bayside districts.

For the city itself, the elevated sections near Odaiba offer an unusual perspective. With the Rainbow Bridge curving to one side and the Ariake skyline rising to the other, the Bayshore Route at dusk becomes something closer to a viewing platform than a road. Night here — the port lit in amber, container ships anchored offshore — is one of Tokyo’s less-documented but genuinely atmospheric passages.

Summary

The Bayshore Route (B) traces 62.1 kilometres along Tokyo Bay, from Yokohama to Ichikawa, opened fully on 22 October 2001 after a phased construction programme that began with the Tokyo Port Tunnel in 1976. Its structures — immersed-tube tunnels, the Tsurumi Tsubasa Bridge, elevated viaducts over reclaimed land — reflect the engineering ambitions of postwar Japan’s coastal development. The route weaves port logistics, airport access, and the bay-facing neighbourhoods of Odaiba and Toyosu into a single corridor.

If you are heading to Haneda, Odaiba, or Toyosu, consider this route and watch the city rearrange itself across the water.

Related: SKYZ Tower & Garden / HARUMI FLAG

Looking for a hotel near the bay? Rakuten Travel covers properties from Haneda to Odaiba.