Shuto Expressway

The Shuto Expressway is a network of tolled expressways in the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan. It is operated and maintained by the Metropolitan Expressway Company Limited.
Most routes are grade separated and have many sharp curves and multi-lane merges that require caution to drive safely. The speed limit is 60 km/h on most routes, 80 km/h on the Bayshore Route, and 50 km/h on the Inner Circular Route.
As of 2014, the cash toll for a standard-size car is ¥1300 regardless of distance traveled. Vehicles using the ETC toll-collection system pay a distance-based toll ranging from ¥300 to ¥1300 for ordinary vehicles – in some cases substantially less than the previous fixed-rate toll. Lower cash rates exist for certain radial routes and ETC users have various time-of-day discounts. For large vehicles, the toll is doubled.

WWW Official Site

Routes

There are 24 routes currently in operation:

Circumferential routes

C1 Inner Circular Route
C2 Central Circular Route — loop incorporating the Yamate Tunnel.
Y Yaesu Route — via Tokyo Expressway
B Bayshore Route Chidori-cho – Sachiura / Namiki

Radial routes

No. 1 Ueno Route Edobashi JCT – Iriya
No. 1 Haneda Route Hamazakibashi JCT – Haneda
No. 2 Meguro Route Ichinohashi JCT – Togoshi
No. 3 Shibuya Route Tanimachi JCT – Yoga
No. 4 Shinjuku Route Miyakezaka JCT – Takaido
No. 5 Ikebukuro Route Takebashi JCT – Bijogi JCT
No. 6 Mukojima Route Edobashi JCT – Horikiri JCT
No. 6 Misato Route Kosuge JCT – Misato JCT
No. 7 Komatsugawa Route Ryogoku JCT – Ichinoe
No. 9 Fukagawa Route Hakozaki JCT – Tatsumi JCT
No. 10 Harumi Route Ariake JCT – Harumi
No. 11 Daiba Route Shibaura JCT – Ariake JCT

Kanagawa routes

K1 Yokohane Route Haneda - Ishikawa-cho JCT
K2 Mitsuzawa Route Kinko JCT – Mitsuzawa
K3 Kariba Route Honmoku JCT – Kariba
K5 Daikoku Route Namamugi JCT - Daikoku JCT
K6 Kawasaki Route Tonomachi – Kawasaki-Ukishima JCT
K7 Yokohama North Route Namamugi JCT - Yokohama Kōhoku JCT
K7 Yokohama Northwest Route Yokohama Kōhoku JCT – Yokohama-Aoba JCT

Saitama routes

S1 Kawaguchi Route Kohoku JCT – Kawaguchi JCT
S2 Saitama Shintoshin Route Yono – Saitama-Minuma
S5 Ōmiya Route Bijogi JCT – Yono

History

The Metropolitan Expressway was first built between Kyobashi Exit in Chūō, Tokyo and Shibaura Exit in Minato, Tokyo in 1962 for the purpose of increasing traffic flow efficiency in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, thus optimizing and improving the functionality of the traffic system. Since then, 280 kilometers of highway network has been built in the Tokyo metropolitan area; 30 kilometers more of highway are either constructed or planned, making the Metropolitan Expressway a vast network of urban expressways in the Tokyo region.
Like other expressways in Japan including the Tōmei Expressway, the Shuto line has become a common street racing road. One of the lines, the Bayshore Route, received worldwide notoriety during the 1990s as the home course for the Mid Night Club, one of the most notorious street racing clubs, who were known for their 300 km/h, sometimes 320 km/h exploits. These exploits and street racing culture on the Shuto Expressway have made it a well-known location for street racing and speed records.
Due to this infamy, the Wangan is the setting for several entertainment franchises, such as the manga and arcade game Wangan Midnight, video games Shutokou Battle and Gran Turismo 5, 6, Sport and 7 and the movie series Shuto Kousoku Trial. Numerous car enthusiast magazines and DVDs, like Best Motoring, also highlight races and activities on the Wangan.
Inner Tokyo sections of the expressway prohibit motorcycle pillion passengers due to poor road geometry. The C2 route allows motorcycles with pillion passengers to travel through. The ban does not apply to motorcycles equipped with a sidecar. The segments with a pillion ban include the important C1 Inner Circular route and adjoining central Tokyo routes.
There are 21 parking areas scattered throughout the Shuto Expressway system. In general these are much smaller than the service areas available every or so on inter-city expressways.