is a national highway in the

Japanese prefecture Japan is divided into 47 prefectures (, ''todōfuken'', ), which rank immediately below the national government and form the country's first level of jurisdiction and administrative division. They include 43 prefectures proper (, ''ken''), two ...

Aomori is the capital city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 278,964 in 136,457 households, and a population density of 340 people per square kilometer spread over the city's total area of ...

. Route 102 stretches from National Route 7 in

Hirosaki is a city located in western Aomori Prefecture, Japan. On 1 April 2020, the city had an estimated population of 168,739 in 71,716 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Hirosaki developed as a castle town fo ...

east to National Routes 4 and 45 in

Towada is a city in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 60,697, and a population density of 84 persons per km2 in 27,677 households. The total area of the city is . Geography Towada is in the foothills of the Hakkōda M ...

Route description

The highway crosses the central part

Aomori Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, ...

, linking Towada in the east to Hirosaki in the west. From Towada, the highway parallels the

Oirase River The is a river located in eastern Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. __NOTOC__ The Oirase River is the only river that drains Lake Towada, a large caldera lake that lies on the border of Aomori and Akita Prefectures. Th ...

Lake Towada is the largest crater lake in Honshū island, Japan. Located on the border between Aomori and Akita prefectures, it lies 400 meters (1,800 ft) above sea level and is 327 m (1,073 ft) deep, drained by the Oirase river. With a s ...

where it runs along the northern shore of the

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

crater lake Crater Lake (Klamath language, Klamath: ''Giiwas'') is a volcanic crater lake in south-central Oregon in the western United States. It is the main feature of Crater Lake National Park and is famous for its deep blue color and water clarity. The ...

. On the shore of the lake, it comes close to crossing into

Akita Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Provinces and prefectures" in ; "Tōhoku" in . Its population is approximately 966,000 (as of 1 October 2019) and its ge ...

, but remains in Aomori. It then heads northwest passing through Hirakawa and Kuroishi. In Kuroishi, the road has a junction with the

Tōhoku Expressway The is a south-north national expressway, and the longest expressway in Japan at . Its southern terminus is in Kawaguchi, Saitama in the Greater Tokyo Area, at the Tokyo Gaikan Expressway and Kawaguchi Route near Araijuku Station, and its no ...

. West of this junction to the route's western terminus in Hirosaki, National Route 102 is designated as a Regional High-Standard Highway. The highway ends at a junction with National Route 7 near the center of Hirosaki.

History

National Route 102 was originally designated on 18 May 1953 as route connecting Hirosaki to

Hachinohe is a city located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 221,459, and a population density of 725 persons per km2 in 96,092 households, making it Aomori Prefecture's second largest city by population. The city h ...

. On 1 April 1963, the route was truncated to its current route. The section between Towada and Hachinohe was incorporated into Route 45.

Major junctions

The route lies entirely within

References

102 102 may refer to: * 102 (number), the number * AD 102, a year in the 2nd century AD * 102 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC * 102 (ambulance service), an emergency medical transport service in Uttar Pradesh, India * 102 (Clyde) Field Squadron, Royal ...

Roads in Aomori Prefecture Regional High-Standard Highways in Japan {{National Routes of Japan, 102