Loop Route

The Loop Route (環状線, Kanjō-sen), signed as Route 1, is one of the expressway routes of the Hanshin Expressway system serving the Keihanshin area of Japan. The route forms a complete loop that travels only in a clockwise direction around central Osaka, passing through the wards of Chūō-ku, Kita-ku, Naniwa-ku, and Nishi-ku with a total length of 10.3 kilometers (6.4 mi).^[1]

Hanshin Expressway Route 1 Loop 阪神高速1号環状線
Central Osaka with the Loop Route highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Hanshin Expressway Company, Limited
Length	10.3 km (6.4 mi)
Existed	1964–present
Major junctions
Beltway around Osaka
Major intersections	Sakai Route Ōsakakō Route Higashi-Osaka Route Ikeda Route Moriguchi Route Higashi-Osaka Route
Location
Country	Japan
Highway system
National highways of Japan Expressways of Japan

History

The Loop Route near Amerikamura in Chūō-ku.

In 1964, the first section of the Loop Route and the Hanshin Expressway system opened.^[2]

The expressway was popular among street racers in the 1980s, but the illegal activity declined after police began heavily patrolling the route and the stagnation of Japan's economy set in during the Lost Decade.^[3]

List of interchanges

The entire expressway lies within Osaka in Osaka Prefecture.

Location	km	mi	Exit	Name	Destinations	Notes
Naniwa-ku	0.0	0.0	1-01	Minatomachi	Sennichimae-dōri – Minatomachi	Entrance from Sakai Route
Nishi-ku	0.9	0.56	1-02	Yotsubashi	Unnamed streets	Entrance only
Nishi-ku / Chūō-ku	1.6	0.99	1-03	Shinanobashi	Chūō-Ōdōri
Chūō-ku	1.6	0.99	–	Nishisenba	Higashi-Osaka Route – to Kinki Expressway, Daini Hanna Road, Nara Ōsakakō Route – to Kansai International Airport, Kobe Route, Bayshore Route, Kobe
	2.5	1.6	1-04	Tosabori	Unnamed streets	Exit only
Chūō-ku / Kita-ku	3.0	1.9	–	Nakanoshima	Ikeda Route north – to Osaka Airport, Meishin Expressway, Ikeda
Kita-ku	3.3	2.1	1-05	Dōjima	Yotsubashisuji	Entrance only
	3.8	2.4	1-06	Kitahama	Osaka Prefecture Route 102 (Sakaisuji)	Exit only
	4.2	2.6	–	Tenjinbashi	Moriguchi Route north – to Kinki Expressway, Moriguchi
Chūō-ku	4.9	3.0	1-07	Kōraibashi	Unnamed streets	Entrance only
	5.0	3.1	1-08	Honmachi	Unnamed streets	Exit only
	5.6	3.5	–	Higashisenba	Higashi-Osaka Route – to Kansai Airport, Osaka Airport, Osakako Route, Kinki Expressway, Tempozan, Izumisano, Kobe, Nara
	6.1	3.8	1-09	Nagahori	Unnamed streets	Entrance only
	6.6	4.1	1-10	Dōtonbori	Unnamed streets	Exit only
	6.9	4.3	–	Kōdzu	Sakai Route south – Sakai
Naniwa-ku	7.8	4.8	1-12	Yūhigaoka	Osaka Prefecture Route 102
	8.4	5.2	–	Ebisu	Matsubara Route south – to Nishi-Meihan Expressway, Hanwa Expressway, Matsubara, Tennoji
	8.8	5.5	1-13	Ebisu-chō	Unnamed streets	Entrance only
	9.1	5.7	1-14	Nanba	Unnamed streets	Exit only
	10.3	6.4	–	Minatomachi	Sakai Route south – Sakai
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access

In fiction

• In Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune, the Loop Route is a playable course.^[4]

See also

• Japan portal
• Roads portal