Route 7 Futatsui By-Pass Akita Prefecture Noshiro CIty 1

is a major north-south national highway on the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...

side of the island of

Honshū , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separa ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. It traverses four

prefectures A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

, with Niigata at its southern end, then Yamagata,

Akita is a Japanese name and may refer to: Places * 8182 Akita, a main-belt asteroid * Akita Castle, a Nara period fortified settlement in Akita, Japan * Akita Domain, also known as Kubota Domain, feudal domain in Edo period Japan * Akita, Kumamoto, ...

, and finally,

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 ...

at its northern end. The long highway begins at an intersection with national routes 8, 17,

113 113 may refer to: *113 (number), a natural number *AD 113, a year * 113 BC, a year *113 (band), a French hip hop group * 113 (MBTA bus), Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus route * 113 (New Jersey bus), Ironbound Garage in Newark and run ...

116 116 (''one hundred and sixteen'') may refer to: *116 (number) *AD 116 * 116 BC * 116 (Devon and Cornwall) Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers, a military unit * 116 (MBTA bus) * 116 (New Jersey bus) * 116 (hip hop group), a Christian hip hop collect ...

, 289,

350 __NOTOC__ Year 350 (Roman numerals, CCCL) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sergius and Nigrinianus (or, less frequentl ...

, and

402 __NOTOC__ Year 402 (Roman numerals, CDII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Arcadius and Honorius (or, less frequent ...

in the capital of Niigata, Niigata. Travelling north, the highway links the prefectural capitals

and

. In central Aomori the highway ends at the northern terminus of National Route 4 and

National Route 45 The following highways are numbered 45: International * Asian Highway 45 * European route E45 * AH45A, Asian Highway 45A Burma * National Road 45 (Burma) Canada * Alberta Highway 45 * Manitoba Highway 45 * Ontario Highway 45 * Saskatchew ...

Route description

The main line of National Route 7 has a length of . When bypasses signed as National Route 7 are included, its total distance increases to . The highway's origin and southern terminus lies in Chuo-ku, Niigata at junction with national routes 8, 17,

, 289,

, and

. The highway passes through Shibata, Murakami,

Tsuruoka is a city in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 125,389 in 49,024 households, and a population density of 95.74 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Tsuruoka is the biggest city in Tōhoku region ...

, Sakata,

Yurihonjō is a city located in Akita Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 76,077 in 30,639 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Geography Yurihonjō is located in southwest corner of Akita Pre ...

, Noshiro,

Ōdate is a city in Akita Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 71,558 in 31,634 households, and a population density of 82 persons per km2 (212 persons per square mile). The total area of the city is . Geography Ōdate is loca ...

, and

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 ...

. Its endpoint and northern terminus lies in

at a junction with national routes 4 and 45.

History

What eventually became National Route 7 between Aburakawa-juku in present-day

and Tsuchizakiminato-juku in

was established during the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow ...

as the Ushū Hama Kaidō and

Ushū Kaidō The was a subroute of the Ōshū Kaidō and the Sendaidō in Japan. It breaks off from the Sendaidō at Kōri-juku in the modern-day Koori in Fukushima Prefecture. It connects to Aburakawa-juku along Matsumaedō, the other subroute of the Ōshū K ...

, subroutes of the

Ōshū Kaidō The was one of the five routes of the Edo period. It was built to connect Edo (modern-day Tokyo) with Mutsu Province and the present-day city of Shirakawa, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. It was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu for government of ...

. National Route 7 was established by the

Cabinet of Japan The is the chief executive body of the government of Japan. It consists of the prime minister, who is appointed by the emperor after being designated by the National Diet, and up to nineteen other members, called Ministers of State. The prime ...

roughly along the aforementioned section of the Ushū Kaidō as well as a new road south to Niigata on 4 December 1952 as First Class National Highway 7 between Niigata and Aomori. It's designationation was changed to General National Highway 7 on 1 April 1965.

Major intersections

All junctions listed are

at-grade intersection An intersection or an at-grade junction is a junction where two or more roads converge, diverge, meet or cross at the same height, as opposed to an interchange, which uses bridges or tunnels to separate different roads. Major intersections a ...

s unless noted otherwise.

Gallery

Masaya-koji Niigata 20131013.JPG, Masaya-koji Street, near the terminus of Route 7 in Niigata City Seirō Interchange 6-May-2019.jpg, Shin-shin Bypass (limited-access highway) Seiro Interchange in Seirō, Niigata Prefectire Route7 Fukura Bypass 1 Yamagata Prefecture Yuza Town 1.jpg, Fukura Bypass in

Yuza is a town located in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 13,615 in 4956 households, and a population density of 65 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Geography Yuza is located in the extreme no ...

, Yamagata Prefecture Keijo Bridge1.JPG, Route 7 in

, Akita Prefecture Terminus of Japan National Route 7.jpg, Terminus of Route 7 in Aomori City

References

External links

* {{National Routes of Japan, 7 007 Roads in Akita Prefecture Roads in Aomori Prefecture Roads in Niigata Prefecture Roads in Yamagata Prefecture

Route description

History

Major intersections

Gallery

See also

References

External links