# Japan National Route 45

National Route 45 (国道45号, Kokudō Shijūgogō) is a national highway of Japan connecting Aoba-ku, Sendai and Aomori, Aomori. Alongside Japan National Route 6, it is a main route along the Pacific coast of eastern Japan. It is paralleled closely by the incomplete Sanriku Expressway between Sendai and Hachinohe.

## Route description

National Route 45 has a total length of 516.9 kilometers (321.2 mi). The northernmost 76.1 kilometers (47.3 mi) of the highway between its northern terminus in central Aomori and Japan National Route 102 in Towada, Aomori is a concurrency with Japan National Route 4 where Route 45 is not signed until it diverges from Route 4. From there it independently begins heading southeast towards the coastal cities of Hachinohe, Kuji, Miyako, Kamaishi, Kesennuma, and Ishinomaki on the way to its southern terminus in Sendai.

## History

Route 45 was originally designated on 18 May 1953 as second-class routes 102 and 111 connecting Hirosaki to Hachinohe and Hachinohe to Sendai, respectively. On 1 April 1963, Route 102 was truncated to its current route with the section between Towada and Hachinohe incorporated into the newly formed first-class Route 45 along with the entirety of Route 111.
Many sections of the highway along the Sanriku Coast were inundated, destroyed, or swept away by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami event.

## List of major junctions
### Aomori Prefecture

    National Route 7 (Aomori West Bypass) / National Route 101 / National Route 280 in Aomori (northern end of concurrency with National Route 4)
    National Route 103 in Aomori
    National Route 7 in Aomori
    National Route 279 in Noheji
    National Route 279 (Shimokita Expressway) (Noheji Interchange) in Noheji
    National Route 394 in Shichinohe
    National Route 4 in Towada (southern end of concurrency with National Route 4)
    National Route 102 in Towada
    Momoishi Road/Daini Michinoku Toll Road (Shimoda-Momoishi Interchange) in Oirase
    National Route 338 in Oirase
    Hachinohe Expressway (Hachinohe-kita Interchange) in Hachinohe
    National Route 104 in Hachinohe
    National Route 340 in Hachinohe
    Hachinohe-Kuji Expressway (Hachinohe-minami Interchange) in Hachinohe
    Hachinohe-Kuji Expressway (Hashikami Interchange) in Hashikami

### Iwate Prefecture

    National Route 395/ Hachinohe-Kuji Expressway (Kuji-kita Interchange) in Kuji
    National Route 395/ Hachinohe-Kuji Expressway/Sanriku-kita Jūkan Road (Kuji Interchange) in Kuji
    National Route 281 in Kuji
    Sanriku-kita Jūkan Road (Fudai-dai-16-Chiwari Interchange) in Fudai
    Sanriku-kita Jūkan Road (Fudai-dai-11-Chiwari Interchange) in Fudai
    Sanriku-kita Jūkan Road (Tanohata-Sugō Interchange) in Tanohata
    Sanriku-kita Jūkan Road (Tanohata Interchange) in Tanohata
    Sanriku-kita Jūkan Road (Tanohata-minami Interchange) in Tanohata
    Sanriku-kita Jūkan Road (Unosudangai Interchange) in Tanohata
    National Route 455 in Iwaizumi
    Sanriku-kita Jūkan Road (Iwaizumi-minami Interchange) in Iwaizumi
    Sanriku Expressway (Tarō-Masakikaigan Interchange) in Miyako
    National Route 106 in Miyako
    Sanriku Expressway (Miyako-minami Interchange) in Miyako
    Sanriku Expressway (Yamada-kita Interchange) in Yamada
    Sanriku Expressway (Yamada Interchange) in Yamada
    Sanriku Expressway (Yamada-minami Interchange) in Yamada
    Sanriku Expressway (Kamaishi-kita Interchange) in Kamaishi
    National Route 106 in Kamaishi
    Sanriku Expressway (Kamaishi-Tōni Interchange) in Kamaishi
    Sanriku Expressway (Kamaishi-minami Interchange) in Kamaishi
    Sanriku Expressway (Yoshihama Interchange) in Ōfunato
    Sanriku Expressway (Sanriku Interchange) in Ōfunato
    Sanriku Expressway (Ōfunato-kita Interchange) in Ōfunato
    Sanriku Expressway (Ōfunato Interchange) in Ōfunato
    National Route 107 in Ōfunato
    Sanriku Expressway (Ōfunato-Goishikaigan Interchange) in Ōfunato
    Sanriku Expressway (Kayooka Interchange) in Rikuzentakata
    National Route 340 in Rikuzentakata
    Sanriku Expressway (Rikuzentakata-Taosabe Interchange) in Rikuzentakata

### Miyagi Prefecture

    Sanriku Expressway (Karakuwa-Goharagi Interchange) in Kesennuma
    Sanriku Expressway (Karakuwa-minami Interchange) in Kesennuma
    National Route 284 in Kesennuma
    Sanriku Expressway (Kesennuma-chūō Interchange) in Kesennuma
    Sanriku Expressway (Ōya-Kaigan Interchange) in Kesennuma
    National Route 346 / National Route 456 in Kesennuma
    Sanriku Expressway (Motoyoshitsuya Interchange) in Kesennuma
    Sanriku Expressway (Koizumi-Kaigan Interchange) in Kesennuma
    Sanriku Expressway (Utatsu-kita Interchange) in Minamisanriku
    Sanriku Expressway (Utatsu Interchange) in Minamisanriku
    Sanriku Expressway (Minamisanriku-Kaigan Interchange) in Minamisanriku
    National Route 398 in Minamisanriku
    National Route 342 in Tome
    Sanriku Expressway (Kahoku Interchange) in Ishinomaki
    National Route 398 (Ishinomaki Bypass) in Ishinomaki
    National Route 108 in Ishinomaki
    National Route 398 in Ishinomaki
    Sanriku Expressway (Naruse-Okumatsushima Interchange) in Higashimatsushima
    National Route 346 in Matsushima
    Sanriku Expressway/Sendai-Tōbu Road (Sendaikō-kita Interchange) in Miyagino-ku, Sendai
    National Route 4 (Sendai Bypass) / National Route 6 / National Route 47 in Miyagino-ku, Sendai
    National Route 48 / National Route 286 in Aoba-ku, Sendai

## Japan National Route 111

National Route 111 (国道111号) is a former second-class national highway of Japan that ran north to south from Sendai to Hachinohe. It existed from 1953 to 1963, when it was incorporated into the newly formed and longer first-class Route 45.