Ehime: Setting Sun Hits ‘Strike Zone’; Rare Phenomenon Seen on Setouchi-Shiamanami Kaido

The Yomiuri Shimbun

2:00 JST, December 9, 2024

IMABARI, Ehime — A sunset was observed through the frames of six towers on the Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge, which is part of the Setouchi-Shimanami Kaido road connecting Japan’s Honshu main island with Shikoku.

The phenomenon can only be observed in November and January, one month before and after the winter solstice, according to the Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Expressway Co.

The Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge in Imabari, Ehime Prefecture, is the collective name for three suspension bridges connecting Shikoku with Oshima Island in the Seto Inland Sea. It extends 4,105 meters in length and has six main towers.

The phenomenon is affectionately known as “sunset strike” because the space formed by the six towers’ frames resembles the strike zone in baseball and the setting sun resembles a baseball.

When photographed on Nov. 21 from the top of a 116.5-meter-tall tower on the Oshima side of the bridge toward Imabari, the setting sun emerged from among the clouds at around 5 p.m. and was seen through the center of the six towers.