Seto Ohashi Tower is the world’s highest rotary observation tower!

“Seto Ohashi (The Great Seto Bridge)” celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2018.
This road and railway bridge is known as one of the longest series of bridges in the world, connecting Sakaide City in Kagawa, Shikoku and Kurashiki City in Okayama, Honshu.
“Seto Ohashi Tower” is a rotary observation tower where you can see a 360-degree panoramic view from the height of 108m, and is located near the bridge.
The observation deck goes up and down as it rotates, and this tower is the highest rotation-type tower in the world.
Now, let’s go to the observation deck and catch a great view!

Go to the boarding gate after buying a ticket at the counter in front of the tower.
When you look up the tower from the entrance, you might feel it is much higher than you thought!
Maybe the height will scare you a little bit???

The observation cabin is in the shape of a disc, and goes up and down while rotating.
There are seats lined up facing toward the windows, and up to 100 people can ride at the same time.

The great view from 108m lets you see the Great Seto Bridge up close.

The deck starts to rise right after the entrance door closed.
The cabin rotates clockwise and goes up slowly, and makes a complete circuit in 2 minutes

You will shortly reach the same height as the highway on the Great Seto Bridge.
The building on the east side of the tower is the “Seto Ohashi Commemorative Hall”

On the west side of the tower is “Shami-jima Island,” which was connected to Shikoku by reclamation in 1967. You can also see the “Kagawa Prefectural Higashiyama Kaii Setouchi Art Museum.”
On the south side, you can see Shikoku and Iino-yama Mountain, which is also called Sanuki Fuji.

Now the cabin has reached the highest point, 108m!
You can enjoy the 360-degree panoramic view while the deck remains at the highest point and rotates 3 times.

The best view from this tower is the scenery with the Great Seto Bridge from the highest point!
You can see the whole bridge all the way to Okayama Prefecture clearly on a clear sunny day.
Until it descends slowly back to the ground, the whole trip takes around 10 minutes.

There are some souvenirs from Kagawa, such as Sanuki Udon and products made from olives at the shop.

This tower was built as an amusement facility for “the Great Seto Bridge Exhibition,” which was held in 1988 to celebrate the opening the bridge.
That means this tower is a same age as the Great Seto Bridge, and it celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2018.

You should experience seeing the 360-degree view from the height of 108m, and of course it is one of the best spots to see the Great Seto Bridge.
If you are going over or passing by the bridge, I recommend that you to stop by this tower to take a good look at the bridge below!

Photographs and text by Hironobu Matsuoka