Roads, Highways, Traffic and Traffic Safety on Stamps

In 1604 Japan, the Edo Period shogunate designated the Tokaido Road, Koshukaido Road, Oshukaido Road, Nikkokaido Road, and Nakasendo Road as the "five Gokaido roads," Japan's main avenues of transportation and trade. Nihonbashi marked the starting point for this major road network.

Japan's International Letter Writing Week issue for 1962 features "Morning View of Nihonbashi" by Hiroshige; the first station in his series "The Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido". Edobashi, as it was then known, was completed in 1603.

The Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway (神戸淡路鳴門自動車道) is a tolled expressway, constructed between 1970 and 1998, that connects Hyōgo and Tokushima prefectures in Japan by crossings of the Akashi Strait and Naruto Strait. The expressway is 89.0 kilometres (55.3 mi) long with 24.3 kilometres (15.1 mi) of that stretch consisting of bridges, chiefly the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge and Ōnaruto Bridge. The expressway has four lanes along the entire route from Kobe to Naruto in Tokushima, with an exception along the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge, were it has six lanes.

This 1998 pair of stamps, celebrate the completion of the Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway, and depict two of the three suspension bridges on this route.

Left: Ōnaruto Bridge, connecting Awaji to Ōge Island
Right: Akashi Kaikyō Bridge, connecting Kobe to Awaji Island

In 1955, a devastating ferry accident claimed the lives of 168 individuals due to the dense fog off the coast of Takamatsu, Japan. This tragedy brought attention to the need for a safer mode of transportation and prompted discussions for the construction of a bridge. In the years that followed, scientists began conducting investigations, and in 1970, the Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Construction Authority was established. However, the project was postponed for five years due to the "oil shock" in 1973. Eventually, after the Environment Assessment Report was released in 1978, construction finally commenced. The Akashi Kaikyō Bridge, which I posted previously in this thread, also came about as a result of this accident.

The result of this project, the Great Seto Bridge (瀬戸大橋), completed in 1988, consists of a series of double deck bridges connecting Okayama and Kagawa prefectures in Japan across a series of five small islands in the Seto Inland Sea. The bridges carry two lanes of highway traffic in each direction (Seto-Chūō Expressway) on the upper deck and one railway track in each direction (Seto-Ōhashi Line) on the lower deck. The journey by car or train, takes about 20 minutes. At 13.1km in length, it ranks as the world's longest two-tiered bridge system.

These stamps celebrate its completion in 1988...

Left: The Shimotsui-Seto Bridge, a double-decked suspension bridge with a center span of 940 meters (3,080 ft) and a total length of 1,400 meters (4,600 ft) which connects Honshū with the island of Hitsuishijima. It is the 45th largest suspension bridge in the world, and the northernmost bridge of the Seto-Chuo Expressway.

Right: The Minami Bisan-Seto Bridge, a double-decked suspension bridge with a center span of 1,100 meters (3,609 ft) and a total length of 1,648 m (5,407 ft). It is the 13th longest suspension bridge span in the world. It is the southernmost part of the Great Seto Bridge. The roadway of the bridge is 93 meters (305 ft) above sea level.

This stamp was issued in 1969, as part of Japan's Quasi-National Park series. It depicts Echizen-Kaga Kaigan Quasi-National Park (est.1968) on the coast of Fukui and Ishikawa Prefectures, Japan. More specifically, it depicts a motorist on Fukui Prefectural Road No. 6, having passing through Kochomon, a cave made of conglomerate rock. However, the road, upgraded to National Road No. 305 in 1970, making this the only natural tunnel on a national road in Japan, was subject to rock falls and small-scale collapses due to the constant coastal weathering. For safety reasons therefore, the road was closed when a bypass was opened on March 23, 2002. The old road remains, but is now off-limits to both vehicular and foot traffic.

Also shown the "Mihon" (specimen) version of the stamp.

In 1967, representatives of 32 countries converged on Tokyo for the XIIIth World Road Congress, held from 5 to 11 November. It was significant, as it was the first Congress, since the inaugural meeting in Paris in 1908, that addressed environmental issues. To mark the event, Japan issued a commemorative stamp on the opening day of the Congress on November 5, 1967.

On May 10, 1969, Japan Post issued a stamp to mark the annual spring National Traffic Safety Campaign. The stamp was designed by Masatoshi Hioki and depicts a mother holding her child's hand at a pedestrian crossing. The child holds a flag up to increase their visibility to road users. 

The Mihon (specimen) version shown.

Many thanks Philatarium .

I can see how people might call this the "blah" period  , but I find the stamps issued during 'Japan's Economic Material' to be a fascinating look into Japan's evolving identity and culture during the second half of the Showa Period. I tend to specialize my collecting to the periods that can be roughly categorized as the Recovery (1946–1954) and High Growth (1955–1972) periods, and would be happy to share more stamps and their stories from this period in a future thread. 

New souvenir sheet issued by France showing the "Route Napoléon" from Nice to Grenoble. So named because this is the path that Napoleon Bonaparte took on his return from his first exile on Elba Island in his march towards Paris. It's a gorgeous mountain road for the most part. I happen to live close to the lower left corner (where the berries are) and have driven several parts of it.

And another nice set from Kenya for the African Highway Conference hosted in Nairobi in 1980:

Scott #158-161, 1980:

Minor sheet issued by Jordan in late October 2023 depicting various completed roadworks projects in the country.