Umihotaru || 海ほたる || Highway rest stop in the middle of the sea

Umihotaru is a highway rest stop in the middle of the sea between Tokyo Bay and Chiba prefecture and what makes it unique is that you need to travel through a tunnel underneath the sea and it rises again to the surface at Umihotaru and you can stop to take in the view.

How to Get There
Umihotaru can be reached from either side of Tokyo Bay (Kawasaki or Kisarazu).There are buses that go to the island departing from Kawasaki and Kisarazu stations. Make sure that you check the schedule before planning your trip.
If you are driving from Tokyo, Yokohama , or Kawasaki , connect to the Aqua-Line by the Bayshore Route or National Route 409 at both the Kawasaki Ukishima junction and Ukishima interchange. From the Chiba or Kisarazu area, the Aqua-Line connects to the Aqua Renraku Expressway and National Route 409 at the Kisarazu Kaneda interchange.

Short Info
Umihotaru was built in 1997 on an artificial island designed to structurally support the transitional point of the underground tunnel from Kanagawa and the bridge from Chiba. The tunnel section has been highly praised for its advanced engineering .
The Tokyo Bay Aqua Line, or Trans-Tokyo Bay Expressway as it was originally known, was first surveyed in 1966. Its purpose was to reduce the travel time between the two industrial regions, Kawasaki(Kanagawa) in the east and Kisarazu(Chiba) in the west.
It’s basically a toll highway consisting of two 10km-long underwater tunnels through the Kawasaki waters, one 5km-long bridge over Chiba waters, and two man-made islands in between. Umihotaru offers a huge parking area and a ventilation tower called The Tower of Wind (Kaze no to).

Видео Umihotaru || 海ほたる || Highway rest stop in the middle of the sea канала Prabin Hirachan