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Japan National Route 101

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National Route 101 shield
National Route 101
国道101号
Map
National Route 101 highlighted in red
Route information
Length241.6 km[1] (150.1 mi)
Existed18 May 1953–present
Major junctions
North end National Route 4 / National Route 45 in Aomori, Aomori
Major intersections
South end National Route 7 / National Route 13 in Akita, Akita
Location
CountryJapan
Highway system
← National Route 58→ National Route 102

National Route 101 (国道101号, Kokudō Hyakuichigō) is a national highway of Japan connecting the capitals of Aomori and Akita prefectures, Aomori and Akita in northern Japan, with a total length of 241.6 kilometers (150.1 mi). The majority of the highway travels along the coast of the Sea of Japan, paralleling the more inland National Route 7. The present-day highway largely follows the path of the Ōmagoe-kaidō, an Edo period road that linked the Kubota and Hirosaki feudal domains.

Route description

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National Route 101 along the Sea of Japan coast in Fukaura, Aomori.
Twilight along National Route 101 with Mount Iwaki in the background

National Route 101 begins in central Aomori at the northern terminus of National Route 7 in front of Aoimori Park. The two national highways run parallel or concurrently all the way from Aomori to National Route 101's southern terminus in the city of Akita; however in the former town of Namioka, National Route 101 leaves National Route 7. It heads west, passing through the cities of Goshogawara and Tsugaru, until it meets the Sea of Japan coastline in the town of Ajigasawa. From there it travels along the western coast of Aomori and Akita prefectures, paralleling the more inland National Route 7. Overall, the highway has a total length of 241.6 kilometers (150.1 mi).[1]

The JR Gonō Line closely parallels the highway for much of its route. Also known as the Ōmagoe-kaidō,[2] there are several attractions along the winding coastal portion of the highway including Furofushi Onsen and the World Heritage Site, Shirakami-Sanchi around the border between Aomori and Akita prefectures.[3] The registration of Shirakami-Sanchi as a World Heritage Site has resulted in an increase in the average daily traffic levels along the highway.[4]

History

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Much of what is presently National Route 101 was preceded by the Ōmagoe-kaidō (大間越街道), a road established by the Tokugawa shogunate during the Edo period as a branch of the longer Ushū Kaidō (now known as national routes 7 and 13).[5][6] It traveled between Hiyama-shukuba on the Ushū Kaidō in present-day Noshiro through the Kubota Domain to Hirosaki Castle in the Hirosaki Domain. A gate was set up between the two domains in 1618 to collect tolls and exchange goods.[7] The highway was dubbed the Ōmagoe-kaidō during the Meiji period when the gate between the domains was abolished.[6]

National Route 101 was established by the Cabinet of Japan between the city of Aomori and Noshiro, Akita in 1953 along pre-existing roads including most of the Ōmagoe-kaidō.[8] By 1965, National Route 101 was certified to have been completed by the national government; however, in 1967 a 20.7-kilometer-long (12.9 mi) section of the highway at the border between Aomori and Akita prefectures was deemed to be to curvy and dangerous. The Noshiro Construction Office rebuilt the section with full funding from the national government. Upon the completion of the renovated section in March 1975, the highway's maintenance was handed back over to regional authorities.[9] The highway and National Route 339 were routed along one-way streets in central Goshogawara from August 1977 to 30 August 1989, when the restrictions were lifted.[10] In 1993, the southern terminus of the highway was moved further south from Noshiro to its current location in the city of Akita.[11]

Incidents and closures

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On 8 June 2018, Oibanasaki Tunnel in Oga, Akita was closed because the risk of a landslide was deemed too high following the collapse of a portion of the hillside adjacent to the entrance of the tunnel during heavy rains in May.[12] The tunnel was reopened on 15 December 2020 following the completion of work to reinforce the tunnel as well as the slope alongside the tunnel entrance.[13]

On 22 September 2018, a drunk driver that was traveling on the highway in the city of Tsugaru at a speed of 163 kilometers per hour (101 mph) caused an incident that involved four cars. As a result of the incident, four people were killed and three were injured. The driver who caused the accident was given a 20-year prison sentence for vehicular homicide on 8 June 2020.[14]

Major intersections

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PrefectureLocationkm[15]miDestinationsNotes
AomoriAomori0.00.0 National Route 4 / National Route 45 south – to Noheji, Towada, MoriokaNorthern terminus; northern end of National Route 7 concurrency (National Route 101 is unsigned)
0.20.12Aomori Prefecture Route 120 northSouthern end of Aomori Route 120 concurrency
0.40.25Aomori Prefecture Route 44 east (Aomori–Nonai Loop Road)
0.90.56 National Route 280 north
1.40.87Aomori Prefecture Route 247 westInterchange
4.42.7 National Route 280 north (Yomogita Bypass)
5.43.4Aomori Prefecture Route 234Interchange
7.54.7  E4 National Route 7 north (Aomori Belt Highway) – to Towada, Noheji, Lake Towada, Aomori Airport, Tōhoku Expressway
9.35.8Aomori Prefecture Route 247
14.99.3Aomori Prefecture Route 247 east
16.610.3 National Route 7Southern end of National Route 7 concurrency
18.311.4Aomori Prefecture Route 285 south
18.811.7 National Route 7
19.512.1Aomori Prefecture Route 231 east
Goshogawara21.713.5Aomori Prefecture Route 35 south
24.815.4Aomori Prefecture Route 34 south
25.515.8Aomori Prefecture Route 36 north
27.216.9 Tsugaru Expressway – to Aomori, Hirosaki, Nakadomari, Cape TappiGoshogawara-higashi Interchange
27.417.0Aomori Prefecture Route 156 north
29.418.3Aomori Prefecture Route 38 south
31.819.8 National Route 339 (Goshogawara-kita Bypass)
32.720.3 National Route 339
33.120.6Aomori Prefecture Route 154 west / Aomori Prefecture Route 156 east
34.221.3Aomori Prefecture Route 151 north
35.221.9Aomori Prefecture Route 43 north
Tsugaru36.122.4E4  Tsugaru Expressway east – to Aomori, Tōhoku ExpresswayTsugaru Kashiwa Interchange
36.722.8Aomori Prefecture Route 245 west
38.023.6Aomori Prefecture Route 37 south / Aomori Prefecture Route 241 north
39.724.7Aomori Prefecture Route 186
42.026.1Aomori Prefecture Route 245 east / Aomori Prefecture Route 267 west
44.127.4Aomori Prefecture Route 188
45.328.1Aomori Prefecture Route 39 south
47.529.5Aomori Prefecture Route 12 north
49.030.4 Tsugaru Expressway west – Hirosaki, Shichirinagahama Port
Ajigasawa49.430.7Aomori Prefecture Route 267 east
52.632.7Aomori Prefecture Route 31 south
53.333.1 Tsugaru Expressway east – Goshogawara, TsugaruCurrent western terminus of the Tsugaru Expressway
55.534.5Aomori Prefecture Route 3
60.137.3Aomori Prefecture Route 3 east
Fukaura65.040.4Aomori Prefecture Route 191 south
93.958.3Aomori Prefecture Route 192 south
107.366.7Aomori Prefecture Route 192 north
108.567.4Aomori Prefecture Route 28 east
112.269.7Aomori Prefecture Route 280 east
AkitaHappō134.183.3Akita Prefecture Route 154 south
137.985.7Akita Prefecture Route 154 north
142.388.4Akita Prefecture Route 63 south
Noshiro150.693.6Akita Prefecture Route 209 north
152.894.9Akita Prefecture Route 143 east
157.697.9 National Route 7 northNorthern end of National Route 7 concurrency
162.2100.8 Akita Expressway – to Ōdate, Aomori, Akita, KitakamiContinuous green T interchange; Akita Expressway exit 13 (Noshiro-minami Interchange)
Mitane166.9103.7 Akita Expressway – to Noshiro, Ōdate, Akita, KitakamiContinuous green T interchange; Akita Expressway exit 12 (Hachiryū Interchange)
167.9104.3 National Route 7 southSouthern end of National Route 7 concurrency
169.3105.2Akita Prefecture Route 42 south
Oga190.5118.4Akita Prefecture Route 304 east
195.7121.6Akita Prefecture Route 55 westNorthern end of Akita Prefecture Route 55 concurrency
199.2123.8Akita Prefecture Route 55 eastSouthern end of Akita Prefecture Route 55 concurrency
204.6127.1Akita Prefecture Route 59
208.0129.2Akita Prefecture Route 226
210.4130.7Akita Prefecture Route 42 north
212.0131.7Akita Prefecture Route 159 north
Katagami219.2136.2Akita Prefecture Route 56 south
Akita224.7139.6 National Route 7 north – Noshiro
Akita Expressway – Akita, Kitakami, Noshiro, Ōdate		Northern end of National Route 7 concurrency; Continuous green T interchange; Akita Expressway exit 9 (Shōwa-Ogahantō Interchange)
Katagami225.2139.9Akita Prefecture Route 41 south
229.4142.5Akita Prefecture Route 124 east
Akita234.1145.5Akita Prefecture Route 112 north
234.3145.6Akita Prefecture Route 56 north (Ohama Street)Northern end of Akita Prefecture Route 56 concurrency
235.8146.5Akita Prefecture Route 231 east
237.5147.6Akita Prefecture Route 56 southSouthern end of Akita Prefecture Route 56 concurrency
240.1149.2Akita Prefecture Route 65 south
241.6150.1 National Route 7 south / National Route 13 south / Akita Prefecture Route 26 east – to Yokote, Daisen, Sakata, Yamagata, Yurihonjō, Akita StationSouthern terminus; southern end of National Route 7 concurrency
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Auxiliary routes

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Tsugaru Expressway

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Main article: Tsugaru Expressway
The western terminus of the Tsugaru Expressway in Ajigasawa.

The Tsugaru Expressway is an incomplete two-lane national expressway in Aomori Prefecture that is signed as an auxiliary route of National Route 101. Its first section was established in 2002 and the expressway has been extended in stages since then.[16] The expressway travels west from Aomori through the cities of Goshogawara and Tsugaru, where the main section of the expressway currently ends at an interchange with the main routing of National Route 101. A short expressway stub opened in Ajigasawa in 2016.[17] The expressway is planned to be extended south through Fukaura to Happō in Akita Prefecture.[18]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "一般国道の路線別、都道府県別道路現況" [Road statistics by General National Highway route and prefecture] (PDF) (in Japanese). Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  2. ^ "Sunset and Sea Squids Ride" (PDF). Aomori Cycling. January 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  3. ^ Combe, Clarissa (29 September 2020). "Aomori Road Trip: Down the West Coast of Aomori". Stay Japan Media. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  4. ^ 平成27年度全国道路・街路交通情勢調査 一般交通量調査 箇所別基本表 [2015 Traffic Report by intersection] (PDF) (Report). Washington State Department of Transportation. 2015. p. 5. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  5. ^ "大間越街道" [Ōmagoe-kaidō] (PDF) (in Japanese). Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  6. ^ a b "県北の脇街道" [Waki-kaidō in the north of the prefecture] (in Japanese). Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  7. ^ "大間越街道" [Ōmagoe-kaidō] (in Japanese). Akita Prefecture Tourism Association. 18 January 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  8. ^ "一般国道の路線を指定する政令" (in Japanese). Retrieved 18 October 2019 – via Wikisource.
  9. ^ "県北の直轄権限代行工事（国道101・103号）" [Directly-controlled agency work in the north of the prefecture (National routes 101 and 103)] (in Japanese). Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  10. ^ "一方通行規制解除" [One-way traffic regulation lifted] (PDF) (in Japanese). City of Goshogawara. September 1988. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  11. ^ "一般国道の路線を指定する政令の一部を改正する政令". 3 April 1992. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  12. ^ "国道１０１号生鼻崎トンネルの通行規制関係" (in Japanese). 28 December 2018. Archived from the original on 16 April 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  13. ^ "土砂崩れの生鼻崎トンネル ２年半ぶりに開通" [Conclusion of landslide work on Oibanasaki Tunnel. Opening for the first time in two and a half years.] (in Japanese). Nippon News Network. 15 December 2020. Archived from the original on 15 December 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  14. ^ "４人死亡事故で懲役２０年 青森地裁" [20 years in prison for incident that caused four fatalities. Aomori District Court]. Sankei Shimbun (in Japanese). 8 June 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  15. ^ "National Route 101" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  16. ^ "一般国道１０１号 浪岡五所川原道路" [General National Route 101 Namioka–Goshogawara Road] (PDF) (in Japanese). Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. 4 July 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  17. ^ "E64 平成３１年 ３月１４日 青森河川国道事務所 鰺ヶ沢道路 夜間通行止めのお知らせ" (PDF). Aomori Office of River and National Highway (in Japanese). 14 March 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  18. ^ "津軽自動車道 柏～浮田計画段階評価" [Tsugaru Expressway Kashiwa-Uchida Planning stage evaluation] (PDF). www.thr.mlit.go.jp (in Japanese). 29 August 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
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