An optical node for use in an optical network, the optical node comprising an optical cross-connect apparatus and an optical add-drop apparatus (SDD, SAD) dropping a desired signal from a plurality of input optical fibers (Fi1 to Fi(n-2)) input to the optical cross-connect apparatus and/or adding a desired signal into a plurality of output optical fibers (Fo1 to Fo(n-2)) output from the optical cross-connect apparatus, the optical cross-connect apparatus including a plurality of optical cross-connect portions (OXC1 to OXC4, OXC1 to OXCs) each having a plurality of internode connection input ports (Pi2 to Pi(n-1)) and a plurality of internode connection output ports (Po2 to Po(n-1)) respectively connected to a part of the plurality of input optical fibers and a part of the plurality of output optical fibers, as well as an internal connection input port (Pi1, Pin) and an internal connection output port (Po1, Pon), the plurality of optical cross-connect portions (OXC1 to OXC4, OXC1 to OXCs) being connected in a ring or a chain such that an internal connection output port of a predetermined optical cross-connect portion of the plurality of optical cross-connect portions is directly connected to an internal connection input port of another optical cross-connect portion of the plurality of optical cross-connect portions and is indirectly connected via said another optical cross-connect of the plurality of optical cross-connect portions and an internal connection optical fiber (Fnsx) to an internal connection input port of a further optical cross-connect portion of the plurality of optical cross-connect portions (OXC1 to OXC4, OXC1 to OXCs), the plurality of optical cross-connect portions (OXC1 to OXC4, OXC1 to OXCs) having all the same configuration, and wherein a signal of a predetermined wavelength output from the internal connection output port (Po1, Pon) of the predetermined optical cross-connect portion (OXC1 to OXC4, OXC1 to OXCs) among the plurality of optical cross-connect portions interconnected through internal connection optical fibers is also input to any other optical cross-connect portion of the plurality of optical cross-connect portions, and the optical add-drop apparatus comprises: a plurality of photocouplers connected to a part of or all of the input optical fibers connected to each of the plurality of optical cross-connect portions (OXC1 to OXC4, OXC1 to OXCs); and a plurality of drop signal receiving apparatuses (TBK1 to TBKs) each having a group of optical switches each receiving signal outputs from a group of photocouplers connected to respective different optical cross-connect portions of the plurality of optical cross-connect portions out of the plurality of photocouplers and alternately selecting a signal output, the plurality of drop signal receiving apparatuses (TBK1 to TBKs) each selecting a signal of a desired wavelength for each of signals respectively output from the group of optical switches, and wherein the part of the plurality of input optical fibers (Fi1 to Fi(n-2)) which are connected to the internode connection input ports (Pi2 to Pi(n-1)) is a group of input optical fibers connected to a same adjacent node of the optical network and the part of the plurality of output optical fibers (Fo1 to Fo(n-2)) which are connected to the internode connection output ports (Po2 to Po(n-1)) is a group of output optical fibers connected to the same optical adjacent node of the optical network, and wherein the number of internode connection input optical fibers of each of the plurality of optical cross-connect portions (OXC1 to OXC4, OXC1 to OXCs) connected to the same drop signal receiving apparatus out of the plurality of drop signal receiving apparatuses (TBK1 to TBKs) is less than the number of the internode connection input ports (Pi2 to Pi(n-1)) for each of the plurality of optical cross-connect portions (OXC1 to OXC4, OXC1 to OXCs).