We all know what it's like to white-knuckle across an especially long or scary bridge... but be thankful that your daily commute doesn't involve this monstrosity of a bridge! It's called the Eshima Ohashi Bridge, and it connects the city of Matsue and the city of Sakaiminato. The two lane concrete bridge is, at nearly a mile long and 37 feet wide, the largest rigid frame bridge in Japan (and the third largest in the world... impressive). It also looks terrifying as crap... seriously, look at how steep that thing is!
Lately, the bridge has been getting a reputation as the world's steepest and most adrenaline- (or puke-) inducing drive, thanks to a Daihatsu Motor Co. TV spot featuring one of their autos conquering the mammoth crossing, showing off its power in the process... but what exactly is it like to drive over the bridge in real life? Is it as intense as it seems?
Apparently... not. In actuality, the bridge isn't that insane... it just looks like it from certain angles. The grade is only 6.1%, which is pretty mild... your average beater car would be able to conquer the Eshima Ohashi with no issues whatsoever. If you check out the bridge directly from the side, you can see that it's really not that steep. If you're looking to take a picture that'll make you look like a badass daredevil who's conquered a rollercoast-like bridge, though... a telephoto lens and the right angle should do the trick quite nicely.
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