The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge is a key 12,831-foot bridge linking two islands in Japan across the Akashi Strait. This suspension bridge, also known as Pearl Bridge, took a decade to build and involved more than 100 contractors. 

At one end is Kobe, located on Honshu island, which stands as the third-largest port city in the country after Tokyo and Yokohama. At the other is Iwaya, an area located on the small Awaji island, part of the Seto Inland Sea. For an impressive period of time, the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge held the record for the longest central span of any suspension bridge in the world.