“The sight of utility poles standing in the middle of the sea is so bizarre!” The Nagabeta Kaishoro Tidal Road, which has gone viral from social media posts like this, was constructed in 1979 for fishermen operating seaweed farms and other businesses in the Ariake Sea, where the tidal range is drastic. The road that stretches into the sea is approximately 1.2 kilometers long. When the tide pulls back, the fishermen drive their trucks onto the Tidal Road, load up the trucks with caught seafood, and make their way back to land before the tide comes in. For fishermen who go out to sea before dawn, the lights that illuminate the Tidal Road are invaluable.
Furthermore, there is a statue of the ONE PIECE character Jinbe nearby, with his back to the Tidal Road and vigorously raising a sake cup. It is one of several statues erected throughout Kumamoto Prefecture to help drive the redevelopment of the prefecture after the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake as part of the Kumamoto Revival Project.