The is a south-north national
expressway, and the longest expressway in
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
at . Its southern terminus is in
Kawaguchi, Saitama
is a Cities of Japan, city located in southwestern Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 595,011 in 293,582 households and a population density of 9605 persons per km². The total area of the city is . It is the G ...
in the
Greater Tokyo Area, at the
Tokyo Gaikan Expressway and
Kawaguchi Route near
Araijuku Station, and its northern terminus is at
Aomori Interchange in
Aomori, Aomori in the northern part of the
Tōhoku region
The , Northeast region, , or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata.
Tōhoku retains ...
, where it meets the
Aomori Expressway
The is a two-lane expressway, two-lane national Expressways of Japan, expressway spur route in Aomori (city), Aomori, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. It is owned and operated by East Nippon Expressway Company and is signed E4A as a direct extension an ...
and
Aomori Belt Highway
The Aomori Belt Highway (青森環状道路 ''Aomori Kanjō-dōro'') is a major highway located entirely in the city of Aomori in northern Japan. Signed as National Route 7, it is a bypass that travels to the south of the central district of the ...
near the
Sannai-Maruyama Site.
It is owned by and operated by
East Nippon Expressway Company. The expressway is signed E4 under the "2016 Proposal for Realization of Expressway Numbering", because it roughly parallels
National Route 4.
Route description

The expressway links the Tōhoku region with the
Kantō region
The is a geography, geographical region of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures of Japan, prefectures: Chiba Prefecture, Chiba, Gunma Prefe ...
and the greater
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
urban area. It is also the longest expressway among all expressways operated by East Nippon Expressway Company.
Starting at a junction with the
Tokyo Gaikan Expressway to the north of Tokyo, the expressway follows a northerly course through the plains of
Saitama Prefecture
is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (January 1, 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 Square kilometre, km2 ( ...
and
Tochigi Prefecture before entering the mountainous interior of the Tōhoku region. Passing through central
Fukushima Prefecture, the expressway then enters
Miyagi Prefecture and passes to the west of
Sendai, the largest city in the Tōhoku region. The expressway continues north into
Iwate Prefecture, passing the prefectural capital
Morioka. In the northern part of Iwate, the expressway veers to the northwest, while the Hachinohe Expressway branches off to the northeast. The Tōhoku Expressway continues into central
Aomori Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori (city), Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is border ...
. Before terminating in the city of
Aomori, the
Aomori Expressway
The is a two-lane expressway, two-lane national Expressways of Japan, expressway spur route in Aomori (city), Aomori, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. It is owned and operated by East Nippon Expressway Company and is signed E4A as a direct extension an ...
begins, continuing east as an extension of the expressway towards
Hachinohe by a series of
toll roads and
expressways.
The route parallels the
Tōhoku Shinkansen and
Tōhoku Main Line of
East Japan Railway Company as well as National Route 4 from its origin in Tokyo to the city of Morioka. North of Morioka, the route diverges to the northwest and parallels the
Ōu Main Line and
National Route 7. It follows this path winding through the
Ōu Mountains to its northern terminus in Aomori at National Route 7 about a kilometer south of the Tōhoku Shinkansen's northern terminus at
Shin-Aomori Station.
The expressway is 6 lanes from to
Utsunomiya Interchange, and then changes to 4 lanes from Utsunomiya to the terminus in Aomori.
The standard rate for travelling the entirety of the Tōhoku Expressway in a
normal-sized car from Kawaguchi Junction to
Aomori Interchange is 13,800 yen, in a
kei car the cost is 11,100 yen.
Naming
Tōhoku refers to the
Tōhoku region
The , Northeast region, , or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata.
Tōhoku retains ...
, the northernmost region on the island of
Honshū
, historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian ...
.
Officially the expressway is designated as the Tōhoku Jūkan Expressway Hirosaki Route. It is also concurrent with the Tōhoku Jūkan Expressway Hachinohe Route until , where it diverges from the Tōhoku Expressway to become the
Hachinohe Expressway.
History
Initial construction
The first section of the Tōhoku Expressway opened on 13 November 1972 between Kanuma and Utsunomiya interchanges. The next year saw the opening of three sections of the highway: first, an extension north from Utsunomiya Interchange to Yaita Interchange on 9 August, next another section between Shirakawa and Koriyama interchanges opened on 26 November followed by a section opening the next day between Shiroishi and Sendai-minami interchanges. In 1974, only one section between Yaita and Shirakawa interchanges was opened along the expressway on 20 December, this connected the southern section and central sections. 1975 saw the completion of two more sections of the expressway: one between Koriyama and Shiroishi interchanges on 1 April (linking the extant southern and northern sections), and then another on 28 November between Sendai-minami and Izumi interchanges. In 1976, only one section between Izumi and Furukawa interchanges was opened along the expressway on 9 December, extending the expressway further north. 1977 saw the completion of another two sections of the expressway: one between Furukawa and Tsukidate interchanges on 15 November, and then a separate section on 19 November between Ichinoseki and Morioka-minami interchanges. On 2 December 1978, that separate section was linked to the rest of the expressway. The next year saw the opening of two sections of the highway: first, the northernmost section of what would be the completed expressway between Ōwani-Hirosaki and Aomori interchanges on 27 September, next another section extending the expressway north from Morioka-minami Interchange to Takizawa was opened on 18 October. Also, Shiwa Interchange was inserted into the existing expressway on 13 October. 1980 would see the opening of three more sections of the expressway: the first of these extended the expressway south from Iwatsuki Interchange to Urawa Interchange on 26 March, the second extended the main section of the expressway north from Takizawa Interchange to Nishine Interchangeon 8 October, the third extended the northern section of the expressway south to Ikarigaseki Interchange on 29 October. On 4 August 1981, Motomiya Interchange was added to the extant expressway. In 1982, Wakayanagi-Kannari Interchange was added to the extant expressway on 29 March and a new section of the expressway opened on 29 October, extending the main section of the expressway north to Ashiro Interchange. The main section was extended north again on 20 October 1983 to Kazuno-Hachimantai Interchange. In 1984, it was extended north to Towada Interchange on 27 September. Koriyama-minami Interchange was added on 6 November. Hanamaki-minami Interchange was added to the extant expressway on 24 July 1986. Later, on 30 July the completion of the -long
Sakanashi Tunnel allowed for the separate northern section of the expressway to be linked to the rest of the expressway. The expressway was completed on 9 September 1987 when it was extended south to its southern terminus at Kawaguchi Junction.
Additional work after completion
In October 2004, an experiment was conducted to test the viability of
smart interchanges was conducted on the Fukushima-Matsukawa Smart Interchange, which was installed onto the pre-existing Fukushima-Matsukawa Parking Area in the city of
Fukushima. After the experimental smart interchange was deemed successful, the Fukushima-Matsukawa Smart Interchange as well as sixteen others around the country were officially opened to traffic across the country in October 2006. Many sections of the expressway were damaged on 11 March 2011 during the
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
On 11 March 2011, at 14:46:24 Japan Standard Time, JST (05:46:24 UTC), a 9.0–9.1 Submarine earthquake, undersea megathrust earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region. It lasted approx ...
. The expressway reopened on 24 March 2011.
['' NHK World'', "Tohoku Expressway Reopened To All Traffic", 24 March 2011.]
List of interchanges and features
PA -
parking area, SA -
service area, TB -
toll gate
References
External links
East Nippon Expressway Company
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tohoku Expressway
Expressways in Japan
Roads in Akita Prefecture
Roads in Aomori Prefecture
Roads in Fukushima Prefecture
Roads in Gunma Prefecture
Roads in Iwate Prefecture
Roads in Miyagi Prefecture
Roads in Saitama Prefecture
Roads in Tochigi Prefecture
1972 establishments in Japan