Staircase National Highway 339 | No cars or bicycles allowed! A strange spot in Aomori Prefecture where vehicles are prohibited despite it being a national highway

"National Highway" is a general term for roads designated by government ordinance in Japan.

Since these roads form a nationwide trunk road network, they are generally wide, designed to allow vehicles to travel at high speeds, and are often associated with a high volume of traffic

However, while this is a "general image" of national highways, there are many exceptions. In particular, National Highway 339, which runs through Aomori Prefecture, has a section that is a staircase completely impassable to vehicles,

What is National Route 339?

National Route 339 starts in Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture, heads north across the Tsugaru Plain, passes through Goshogawara City, and ends at Minmaya Honmachi in Sotogahama Town, Higashitsugaru District, at the northern tip of the Tsugaru Peninsula.

It was designated as a national highway 1974 , exactly 50 years before this article was published.

National Route 339 runs north-south through the Tsugaru Peninsula, with the northern section following the Sea of ​​Japan coast. After passing the famous Cape Tappi, it heads southeast towards Mimaya Honmachi

At the final stop, the intersection of Mimaya Honmachi, the road connects with National Route 280, and by traveling along both Route 339 and Route 280, you will reach Aomori City. In other words, the national highways are set up in such a way that you can take a route that circles the Tsugaru Peninsula in an inverted U shape

As a side note, there were once plans to construct a railway line that would circle the entire Tsugaru Peninsula. However, neither the railway on the western side of the peninsula (Tsugaru Railway Line) nor the railway on the eastern side (JR Tsugaru Line) ever reached Cape Tappi, and that remains the case to this day

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339 " is impassable for vehicles.

National Route 339 is a very ordinary national highway from Hirosaki City to Sotogahama Town, but at an intersection in Sotogahama Town, a sign suddenly appears that says, "If you are going towards Aomori/Imabetsu, please leave National Route 339."

If you ignore the signs and continue straight on National Route 339, the center line of the road will gradually fade and the road will narrow. Eventually, the road will no longer be National Route 339 .

That being said, National Route 339 doesn't actually end at this point

continues, bending to the right .

However, just beyond this winding path is a "staircase" that is 388.2m long, has 362 steps, and has an elevation difference of

As you know, stairs are basically only accessible on foot. Vehicles such as bicycles, motorcycles, and cars are naturally not allowed to use paths that consist of stairs

There are other national roads that are impassable for vehicles

Incidentally, there are actually quite a few national highways across the country where vehicles are not allowed to pass

National Highway "National Route 58"

For example National Route 58 is a national highway connecting Kagoshima City in Kagoshima Prefecture and Naha City in Okinawa Prefecture. Since the two cities are not connected by land, vehicles cannot travel between them directly, and the only way to cross is by ferry or other means.

These types of national highways are called maritime national highways

National highways marked with a dotted line, also known as "terrible roads"

Furthermore, even on land-based national highways, there are some that are impassable to vehicles due to reasons such as having a width of less than 1.5 meters

These types of national highways are called dotted-line national highways and are also known by the nickname " " (brutal road

However, National Route 339, with its the only national highway in the country where vehicles cannot pass simply because it consists of stairs .

Furthermore, there is a road on the east side (near the foreground) of the staircase highway that allows you to bypass it, so it is perfectly possible to travel between Hirosaki and Mimaya by car or other means.

Why were the stairs designated as a national highway?

The reason why the stairs were designated as a national highway is not entirely clear, but based on information released by Aomori Prefecture and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the following circumstances can be inferred

The section that is now a national highway with stairs was a narrow, steep prefectural road before it was designated as a national highway. Tappi Junior High School is located halfway up the slope, and Tappi Elementary School is at the top of the slope. It is said that stairs have been provided since ancient times from the bottom of the slope to the junior high school for the students attending the school

Then, in 1974, this slope was designated as part of National Route 339

The prevailing theory is that the road, which was not passable by vehicles, was designated a national highway because it was a provisional designation with plans to improve it to make it passable by vehicles

On the other hand, around 1985, after the road was designated a national highway, stairs were also built on the upper side of the slope to make it easier for students to commute to Tappi Elementary School

As already mentioned, the Staircase National Highway is 388.2m long with a height difference of 70m, making it a steep slope that is not easy for vehicles to pass through

I have actually traveled on that road before, and I can easily imagine how difficult it must have been to convert such a narrow, steep path into a proper road for vehicles

Furthermore, with the construction of a road that bypasses the staircase national highway and allows vehicles to pass through, there is no longer a need to hastily improve the staircase national highway to make it passable for vehicles

Furthermore, Tatsuhi Junior High School closed in 1984, and the elementary school closed in 1989. The reason for the decrease in the number of students is believed to be that the number of households related to the tunnel construction, who lived around the staircase national highway, decreased around the time the Seikan Tunnel connecting Aomori Prefecture and Hokkaido opened (1988)

For the reasons stated above, the importance of the staircase national highway as a local road has decreased, and therefore, this road will remain as a staircase

Now, the logical course of action would be to redesignate the newly constructed detour as National Route 339. However, the only staircase-style national highway in the country had already become famous through media coverage

Therefore, it was likely decided that leaving the staircase-like national highway as it was would be more beneficial as a tourist attraction, and the measure of redesignating the detour as a national highway was not taken

Between 1993 and 1996, the stairs were renovated and are now in their current state. And, as intended, the Staircase National Highway has become one of the top tourist attractions in Sotogahama Town

How do I get to Stairway National Highway?

*Information as of November 2024

As mentioned above, the Stairs National Highway is part of National Highway 339, so you can easily get there by driving along National Highway 339.
However, there are few parking spaces on the lower side of the stairs (north/Minamiya side), so you will generally have to park on the upper side (south/Hirosaki side).

You can also easily access the area near the Stairway National Highway by using the shared taxi service "Wantaku." For more information, please check the Wantaku website

Incidentally, near the upper entrance of the staircase-like national highway, a monument inscribed with the song "Tsugaru Strait Winter Scenery."

Tsugaru Kaikyo Fuyu Geshiki sung by Sayuri Ishikawa . When you press the button, the lyrics of the second verse, which is about Cape Tappi, will play.

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Other nearby tourist attractions include the Tappi Cape Lighthouse and the Tappi Cape Hot Spring Hotel Tappi. Please note that the Staircase National Highway is closed during the winter months, so please visit during other times of the year

summary

Although the exact circumstances of its creation are unclear, the Staircase National Highway has become an important tourist attraction in Sotogahama Town and continues to be so today

When you visit Cape Tappi, be sure to take a walk along the staircase road. You can enjoy the view of hydrangeas on both sides of the path, especially from late July to mid-August

Yuto Ono

A former railway engineer and current freelance writer who has loved trains since childhood, his dream is to make train travel his career