page_title: Japan National Route 103
section_title: Traveling out of Aomori city
hierarchical_section_title: Japan National Route 103 / Route description / Traveling out of Aomori city
caption_attribution_description: 酸ヶ湯温泉付近
context_page_description: National Route 103 is a national highway of Japan connecting the capital of Aomori Prefecture, Aomori to Ōdate in northeastern Akita Prefecture. It has a total length of 130.0 km.
context_section_description: The route's northern terminus is an intersection with Japan National Route 4 in the center of the city of Aomori. From here it begins its journey south through the city. Within the urbanized parts of the city it is known as Kankō Dori (Tourism Road). After passing by the headquarters of Michinoku Bank, the highway crosses over the Aoimori Railway Line. It then travels through a heavily commercialized area of the city before reaching an intersection with the Aomori Belt Highway (National Route 7) and the Aomori Expressway. Route 7 serves as a frontage road to the expressway and as an eventual access point to it at Aomori-chūō Interchange.
  Continuing out of the commercial area, the highway passes Aomori Chuo Gakuin University. After passing the institution the road divides with the western route serving as a bypass to the main highway to the east. At this point the highway is known as the Hakkōda Gold Line. After passing through a residential area, the main highway and bypass begin the ascent of the Hakkōda Mountains. The highways merge near Aomori Public University, now known solely as the Hakkōda Gold Line. Continuing its ascent up the mountain, the route meets Aomori Prefecture Route 40, a route that provides access to the nearby memorial of the Hakkōda Mountains incident and then travels southeast to Towada, Aomori. Route 103 winds its way up the mountain where it reaches the Hakkōda Ropeway, a cable car that takes skiers and hikers to the peak of Mount Tamoyachi of the Hakkōda Mountains. After a short descent, the road meets Japan National Route 394 at a signaled intersection. Just a couple of kilometers from here is Sukayu Onsen, the snowiest inhabited place on earth famous for its 1,000 person mixed-use bath. The road continues winding down the mountain in southeasterly path, passing other onsen and resorts along the way. This section of road is closed during the winter, but is reopened in early spring as a "snow corridor" where visitors are allowed to walk. It meets Japan National Route 102 at a junction near the Oirase River. Route 103 begins a concurrency with Route 102 here, traveling to southwest towards Lake Towada, while Route 102's eastbound traffic continues following the river's flow towards the city of Towada.
caption: The Hakkōda Gold Line snow corridor near Sukayu Onsen.
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