Known as the Kansai International Airport, this engineering marvel, inaugurated in 1994, is built entirely as an artificial island, earning it the moniker "Floating Kansai International Airport."
The airport serves both domestic and international flights, boasting prestigious brands like Chanel, Hermes, and Cartier, along with a variety of restaurants. However, it is the airport's exterior that has left social media users in awe.
Constructed on the specially designed Kankūjima island, the airport was conceived as a solution to the overcrowding issue at Osaka International Airport. Kankūjima is divided into two areas, each housing a terminal building – Terminal One and Terminal Two.
Terminal One, designed by Renzo Piano, accommodates arrivals and departures for both international and domestic flights operated by major airlines. Stretching a staggering 1.7 kilometers, it currently holds the record as the world's longest airport terminal. Terminal Two primarily serves local flights.
According to Design Nerd's YouTube account, the airport facilitates an impressive 20 million passengers annually, making it the third busiest airport in Japan.
The account also shares why is the airport in the middle of the ocean.
To understand why this airport is located in the ocean, you should understand the size of Japan.
Japan is a small country, even smaller than the state of California. But at the same time, it has three times the population, and most of the land in Japan is covered with uninhabitable mountains.
In short, there's not that much free land. Everything is dense, the buildings are mostly high-size and even the cars are small. It's not that there's no free space at all, but more like there's no free space around major cities.
Approximately 0.5% of Japan's total area is estimated to be reclaimed land. Land reclamation is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, and rivers. But even though they have experience in doing that, it doesn't make it easier.
Kansai International Airport has the longest terminal in the world, with a length of 1.7 kilometers. So building an island that would be able to fit such as an airport isn't an easy task.
Named Itami Airport, it opened way back in 1939. For more than a decade it was used by the military, first by the Imperial Japanese Army, and then by the US. But after Japan took back control, they repurposed it as a civilian airport. Keep in mind, though, that this airport was never designed for modern airplanes for such traffic volume as there is today.
Below the video, numerous users are in awe of the $20 billion island site.
One person said: Looks like an aircraft carrier!
A second wrote: It's also slowly sinking.
While a third commented: My first wonderful and unforgettable travel in Japan, in 1997: Osaka. Destination: KIX, Kansai International Airport: THE WONDER.
Someone else said: Why not make the foundation be frigid, but slightly less dense than the surrounding water, to keep it from sinking while supporting denser stuff on top? Never been there, last flew out of the old Osaka airport.
Watching the video below:
