Japan National Route 119 Explained

Country:JPN
Type:National
Route:119
Map Custom:yes
Map Notes:National Route 119 highlighted in red
Length Km:39.4
Length Ref:[1]
Established:1953
Direction A:West
Terminus A: / Tochigi Prefecture Route 247 in Nikkō
Direction B:East
Terminus B: in Utsunomiya
Section1:Nikkō Utsunomiya Road section
Length Km1:24.5
Terminus B1:Utsunomiya Interchange
in Utsunomiya
Previous Type:Route
Previous Route:118
Next Type:Route
Next Route:120

is a national highway located entirely within Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. It connects the city of Nikkō to Utsunomiya, the prefecture's capital, and has a total length of 63.9km (39.7miles). The present-day highway largely follows the path of the Nikkō Kaidō, an Edo period road that linked Edo and the Shrines and Temples of Nikkō.

Route description

The designation of National Route 119 applies to two highways. The first highway to carry the designation almost entirely follows the original Nikkō Kaidō from National Route 120 and National Route 122 at Rinnō-ji in Nikkō to a junction with National Route 4 to the south of central Utsunomiya. The second highway follows the Nikkō Utsunomiya Road from Nikko Interchange to its eastern terminus at the Tōhoku Expressway. The two highways have a total length of 63.9km (39.7miles).[1]

Nikkō Kaidō route

The highway that follows the original routing of the Nikkō Kaidō has a total length of 39.4km (24.5miles). This routing of National Route 119 makes up the Nikkō–Utsunomiya leg of the scenic Japan Romantic Road that stretches across Tochigi and Nagano prefectures.[2] The highway was deemed by Guinness World Records to be a part of what the organization called the world's longest tree-lined avenue, the Cedar Avenue of Nikkō.[3] [4]

The highway begins at a junction near Rinnō-ji with National Routes 120 and 122 and Tochigi Prefecture Route 247 in Nikkō. From there it travels southwest through the central district of the city, where it begins running parallel with the Tōbu Nikkō Line and the Nikkō Utsunomiya Road. Within the former city of Imaichi, the highway has junctions with National Routes 121, 352, and 461—sharing a brief concurrency with the former two of the three routes. Crossing into Utsunomiya, the highway begins gradually curving to the south still paralleling the Nikkō Utsunomiya Road, but moving away from the Tōbu Nikkō Line.

In northwestern Utsunomiya, the highway has a junction with National Route 293. Further south, the highway passes beneath, but does not connect directly to, the Tōhoku Expressway. It instead intersects with the Utsunomiya-kita Road, and auxiliary route of National Route 119 that has a junction with the expressway, just to the south of that underpass. The Utsunomiya-kita Road and National Route 119 run parallel to one another for a short distance before they intersect with the Utsunomiya Ring Road, there the auxiliary route curves to the east towards its end while the main route continues south towards central Utsunomiya. In central Utsunomiya the highway zigzags its way south past several key locations, such as the city hall, the Tochigi Prefecture Office, and Tōbu-Utsunomiya Station before coming to an end just under two kilometers south at a junction with National Route 4.[5]

Nikkō Utsunomiya Road

See main article: Nikkō Utsunomiya Road. The part of the Nikkō Utsunomiya Road designated as National Route 119 has a total length of 24.5km (15.2miles). The highway is designated for motor vehicles with a displacement of at least 125 cc. The design standard of the road is similar to most national expressways in Japan. The road has four lanes on the section designated as a part of National Route 119 and a speed limit of 80 km/h.[6]

History

See also: Nikkō Kaidō. Much of what is presently National Route 119 was preceded by the northernmost section of the Nikkō Kaidō, a road established by the Tokugawa shogunate during the Edo period. It connected Edo and the Shrines and Temples of Nikkō. Secondary National Route 119 was established by the Cabinet of Japan between of Nikkō and Utsunomiya in 1953 along pre-existing roads, mostly made up of the section of the Nikkō Kaidō between the two municipalities.[7] In 1965, the Cabinet of Japan amended the highway's designation, upgrading it from its secondary status to a full national highway.[8]

In 1988, an ordinance was put in place along the Nikkō Kaidō that forbade any new installation of large advertisements along tree-lined sections of the road.[9] On 16 May 2018, a section of the highway was rerouted to protect the Cedar Avenue of Nikkō, a protected tree-lined section of the original Nikkō Kaidō that was being degraded by the heavy automobile traffic of the national highway.[10]

Major intersections

The route lies entirely within Tochigi Prefecture. For the Nikkō Utsunomiya Road section of National Route 119, see the junction list of that article.

Auxiliary routes

Utsunomiya-kita Road

The forms the northern section of the Utsunomiya Ring Road, and as an auxiliary route of National Route 119, it has the function of bypassing the narrow Nikkō Kaidō and connecting National Route 4 with the Nikkō Kaidō without passing through the central district of Utsunomiya. Its western terminus is Utsunomiya Interchange where it continues west towards Nikkō as the Nikkō Utsunomiya Road and its eastern terminus is at National Route 4 in the northeastern part of Utsunomiya. Before the opening of the Utsunomiya-kita Road in 1972, vehicles passing from National Route 119 to the southeastern part of the prefecture and Ibaraki prefecture had to go through the center of Utsunomiya, which caused heavy traffic. The opening of the bypass reduced traffic in central Utsunomiya.[11]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 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. ja. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. 19 February 2020. 24 March 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170324085031/http://www.mlit.go.jp/road/ir/ir-data/tokei-nen/2016/pdf/d_genkyou26.pdf. live.
  2. Web site: Japan Romantic Road. japan-guide.com. 13 May 2020. 13 April 2021. 26 February 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210226232612/https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e7450.html#section_main_content. live.
  3. Web site: Longest avenue of trees. Guinness World Records. 2021. 14 April 2021. 18 April 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200418125718/https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/longest-avenue-of-trees. live.
  4. Web site: 日光杉並木. Cedar Avenue of Nikkō. . ja. 25 June 2019. 14 April 2021. 14 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210414012640/https://www.unesco.or.jp/nikko/namiki2.htm. live.
  5. Web site: 一般国道119号改築工事. General National Highway 119 reconstruction work. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. ja. 15 November 2018. 14 April 2021. 14 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210414015837/https://www.ktr.mlit.go.jp/ktr_content/content/000716419.pdf. live.
  6. Web site: 道路デザイン指針(仮称)検討委員会 第5回委員会、第 11 回幹事会. Road Design Guidelines (tentative name) Review Committee 5th Committee, 11th Executive Committee. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport . ja. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20061117173534/http://www.mlit.go.jp/road/sisaku/roaddesign/roaddesign.files/rd27.pdf. 17 November 2006. 14 April 2021.
  7. 二級国道の路線を指定する政令 (昭和二十八年). ja. 1953. 二級国道の路線を指定する政令. Cabinet Order Designating Secondary National Routes. Cabinet of Japan.
  8. 一般国道の路線を指定する政令. 一般国道の路線を指定する政令. ja. 1965. Cabinet Order Designating General National Routes. Cabinet of Japan.
  9. Web site: 国道119号線(日光街道)桜並木敷沿道の屋外広告物規制について. About the regulation of outdoor advertisements along the cherry blossom trees along National Route 119 (Nikkō Kaidō). City of Utsunomiya. ja. April 1996. 2 May 2021. 2 May 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210502020957/https://www.city.utsunomiya.tochigi.jp/_res/projects/default_project/_page_/001/005/824/okugai_nikkoukaidou.pdf. live.
  10. Web site: 国道119号 旧道(日光街道)日光市七本桜地内 通行止め位置図. National Route 119 old road (Nikkō Kaidō) Nikkō seven cherry blossoms area closed road map. Tochigi Prefecture. ja. 26 April 2018. 13 April 2021. 13 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210413023822/http://www.pref.tochigi.lg.jp/h53/documents/nanahon1.pdf. live.
  11. Web site: 一般国道119号 宇都宮環状北道路 宇都宮市. General National Route 119 Utsunomiya Ring Road Utsunomiya. ja. Tochigi Prefecture. 2011. 13 April 2021. 13 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210413034445/http://www.pref.tochigi.lg.jp/h02/pref/seisakuhyouka/documents/111116_02kankita.pdf. live.