Tokyo Gaikan Expressway

The Tokyo Gaikan Expressway (東京外環自動車道, Tōkyō Gaikan Jidōshadō) is a national expressway in Japan. It is owned and operated by East Nippon Expressway Company.

Tokyo-Gaikan Expressway
東京外環自動車道
Route information
Length	33.7 km[1] (20.9 mi)
Existed	1992[2]–present
Major junctions
From	Tōmei Junction in Setagaya, Tokyo Tōmei Expressway (planned) Ōizumi Junction in Nerima, Tokyo (current)
To	Kōya Junction in Ichikawa, Chiba Higashi-Kantō Expressway Shuto Expressway Bayshore Route
Location
Country	Japan
Major cities	Wakō, Toda, Saitama, Kawaguchi, Sōka, Yashio, Misato
Highway system
National highways of Japan Expressways of Japan

Overview

Tokyo Gaikan Expressway at Misato Junction where it crosses the Jōban Expressway.

The name Gaikan refers to the route's status as an outer ring road (beltway) for Tokyo. The expressway is also referred to simply as Gaikan for short. It is the second of three expressway ring routes in the greater Tokyo area: the innermost is the Central Circular Route, then the Gaikan, and the outermost is the Ken-Ō Expressway.^[2] The Inner Circular Route of the Shuto Expressway is apparently not considered a true ring road, as the alternate Japanese name of the Ken-Ō Expressway (English name is Metropolitan Inter-City Expressway) is 三環状道路, with the first character meaning 'three' not 'four.' A section of the expressway on the northern side of the Tokyo area was the first to open to traffic (Ōizumi Junction to Misato-minami Interchange). Most of this section is an elevated roadway built on the median of National Route 298 with curved windbreaks on both sides. Most of the roadway has two lanes in each direction (three lanes from Ōizumi Junction to Wakō-kita Interchange).

The eastern section from Misato to Ichikawa was opened to the public on 2 June 2018, three years after schedule.^[3] The western section from Izumi to the Chuo expressway is under construction, while the final section linking to the Tomei expressway is still at the planning stage.^[4] The western section will pass through the densely populated suburbs of western Tokyo; large parts of it will consist of tunnels constructed at least 40 m underground (deep underground).^[5]

The toll for a regular passenger car is currently 500 yen regardless of the distance travelled. Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) is accepted.^[6]

List of interchanges and features

• PA - parking area, TB - toll gate

Prefecture	Location	km	mi	Exit	Name	Destinations	Notes
16.2 km section under construction, planned connection to Tōmei Expressway
Tokyo	Nerima	0.0	0.0	50	Ōizumi	Tokyo Metropolitan Route 24 (Nerima Tokorozawa Route) Kan-etsu Expressway north	Current western terminus
Saitama	Wakō	3.4	2.1	51	Wakō	Saitama Prefecture Route 88 (Wakō Inter Route)
		5.3	3.3	52	Wakō-kita	National Route 298	No through access between exit and PA
		5.3	3.3	PA	Niikura		U-turns possible
	Wakō / Toda border			Sakitama Bridge
	Toda	7.6	4.7	53	Toda-nishi	National Route 298	Misato-bound exit, Ōizumi-bound entrance only
		8.5	5.3	60	Bijogi	Ikebukuro Route Ōmiya Route	Controlled by traffic lights
		9.9	6.2	61	Toda-higashi	National Route 298	Ōizumi-bound exit, Misato-bound entrance only
	Kawaguchi	12.3	7.6	62	Gaikan Urawa	National Route 298	Ōizumi-bound exit, Misato-bound entrance only
		14.0	8.7	63	Kawaguchi-nishi	National Route 298	Misato-bound exit, Ōizumi-bound entrance only
		16.8	10.4	64	Kawaguchi-Chūō	National Route 298	Ōizumi-bound exit, Misato-bound entrance only
		17.6	10.9	70	Kawaguchi	Tōhoku Expressway north Kawaguchi Route south
		19.0	11.8	71	Kawaguchi-higashi	National Route 298	Ōizumi-bound exit, Misato-bound entrance only
	Sōka	22.4	13.9	72	Sōka	National Route 298 National Route 4
	Yashio			73 / PA	Yashio	National Route 4	Planned
	Misato	28.4	17.6	74	Gaikan Misato-nishi	National Route 298	Misato-bound exit, Ōizumi-bound entrance only
		29.6	18.4	80	Misato	Jōban Expressway Misato Route
		31.0	19.3	81 / TB	Misato-Chūō	National Route 298	Ōizumi-bound exit, Kōya-bound entrance only
		33.7	20.9	82	Misato-minami	National Route 298	Kōya-bound exit, Ōizumi-bound entrance only
Chiba	Matsudo	39.1	24.3	83	Matsudo	National Route 298	Ōizumi-bound exit, Kōya-bound entrance only
	Ichikawa	40.1	24.9	84	Kita-Chiba	National Route 464 (Kita-Chiba Road)	Planned
		41.3	25.7	85	Ichikawa-kita	National Route 298 Chiba Prefecture Route 264 (Takatsuka Shinden Ichikawa Route)	Kōya-bound exit, Ōizumi-bound entrance only
		44.7	27.8	86	Ichikawa-Chūō	National Route 298	Ōizumi-bound exit, Kōya-bound entrance only
		45.9	28.5	90	Keiyō	Keiyō Road
		47.6	29.6	91	Ichikawa-minami	National Route 298	Kōya-bound exit, Ōizumi-bound entrance only
		49.2	30.6	100	Kōya	Higashi-Kantō Expressway Bayshore Route	Eastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access       Unopened

Gallery

• 
  Gaikan above Route 298
• 
  Sakitama Bridge
• 
  Gaikan passing under Tōhoku Shinkansen
• 
  Traffic lights at Bijogi JCT

References

1. "E-NEXCO Expressway Data". Retrieved 13 April 2008.
2. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. "History of Tokyo's 3 Ring Roads". Archived from the original on 2 April 2008. Retrieved 17 April 2008.
3. "E-NEXCO Opening Schedule". Retrieved 15 April 2008.
4. "E-NEXCO Opening Schedule". Retrieved 30 December 2019.
5. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. "Tokyo Gaikan Website". Retrieved 15 April 2008.
6. "E-NEXCO Drive Plaza Route Search". Retrieved 15 April 2008.

External links

• (in Japanese) East Nippon Expressway Company
• (in Japanese) About the Gaikan (Chiba section)
• (in Japanese) Tokyo Ring Step (Tokyo section)