Inner Circular Route (Shuto Expressway)

Marked C1 on this map of the Shuto Expressway system

The Inner Circular Route (都心環状線 Toshin Kanjō-sen), signed as Route C1, is one of the routes of the Shuto Expressway system serving the central part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The route is a complete loop around the central Tokyo wards of Chiyoda, Chūō, and Minato, with a total length of 14.3 km (8.9 mi). In addition to serving areas of central Tokyo, the Inner Circular Route is also serves the origin of the Shuto Expressway radial routes.

History

The expressway was built between 1962 and 1967, partly in preparation for the 1964 Summer Olympics. In 2009, Tokyo private industries proposed funding a project to dismantle the elevated expressways and put them underground.^[1]

Exit List

List of interchanges and exits ordered following the outer loop (clockwise) beginning just past Edobashi Junction.

Miyakezaka JCT.

Near Shiodome

Near Ginza

Municipality	Exit/interchange name	Destinations	Notes
Chūō-ku	Takaracho	Yaesu-dori, Hatchobori 2 crossing	Outer loop exit/inner loop entrance
Chūō-ku	Kyobashi JCT	Tokyo Expressway to Higashi-ginza exit and Shimbashi	access from outer loop only
Chūō-ku	Kyobashi		Inner loop exit/outer loop entrance
Chūō-ku	Shintomicho		Exit only
Chūō-ku	Ginza
Chūō-ku	Shiodome JCT	Tokyo Expressway and Yaesu Route to Kita-ikebukuro	access from inner loop only
Chūō-ku	Shiodome		inner loop exit/outer loop entrance
Minato-ku	Hamasakibashi JCT	Route 1 to Haneda and Bayshore Route
Minato-ku	Shiba-koen	Tokyo Tower
Minato-ku	Ichinohashi JCT	Route 2 to Meguro and Keihin #2 Road
Minato-ku	Iikura	Gaien-higashi-dori, Roppongi	outer loop exit/inner loop entrance
Minato-ku	Tanimachi JCT	Route 3 to Shibuya and Tomei Expressway
Chiyoda-ku	Kasumigaseki	Diet Building, Japanese Government offices
Chiyoda-ku	Miyakezaka JCT	Route 4 to Shinjuku and Chūō Expressway
Chiyoda-ku	Daikancho	British Embassy in Tokyo, Chidorigafuchi Park	outer loop exit/inner loop entrance
Chiyoda-ku	Kita-no-maru	Kitanomaru Park, Nippon Budokan	inner loop exit/outer loop entrance
Chiyoda-ku	Takebashi JCT	Route 5 to Kita-Ikebukuro, Omiya, and Kan-Etsu Expressway
Chiyoda-ku	Kandabashi	Otemachi
Chiyoda-ku	Kandabashi JCT	Yaesu Route to Marunouchi and Haneda	access from outer loop only
Chūō-ku	Gofukubashi		inner loop exit/outer loop entrance
Chūō-ku	Edobashi		outer loop exit/inner loop entrance
Chūō-ku	Edobashi JCT	Route 1 to Ueno Route 6 to Hakozaki JCT, and Bayshore Route via Route 9	Route 1 to Ueno can be access from inner loop only.

Notes

1. Okada, Keisuke, "Push to replace Tokyo's aging expressways with tunnel routes revived, Japan Times, 17 March 2012, p. 3.