Japan National Route 1

near Mount Fuji in Shizuoka Prefecture The main line of National Route 1 has a length of . When bypasses signed as National Route 1 are included, its total distance increases to . Out of all of the national highways in Japan, it is the second longest land-based route after National Route 4, though National Route 58 is the longest route when seabound routes are factored in. The highway's origin and eastern terminus lie at Nihonbashi in Tokyo's Chūō ward. At Nihonbashi it meets national routes 4, 6, 14, 15, 17, and 20. The highway passes through the cities of Kawasaki, Yokohama, Odawara, Numazu, Shizuoka, Hamamatsu, Nagoya, Yokkaichi, Ōtsu, and Kyoto. Its endpoint and western terminus lie in the Umeda district of Osaka's Kita ward. In Umeda, it has a junction with national routes 2, 26, 163, 165, 25, and 176. Overlapping sections • In Chuo: Route 15 • From the origin to Chiyoda (Sakuradamon intersection): Route 20 • In Yokohama City, from Takashima-cho intersection to Hamamatsucho intersection: Route 16 • From Odawara City to Hakone Town (Miyanoshita intersection): Route 138 • From Hamamatsu City (Shinohara intersection) to Kosai City (Okurado IC): Route 42 ==History==

National Route 1 was preceded by the Tōkaidō between Tokyo and Kyoto and the old Kyo Kaidō from Kyoto to Osaka. The road's construction was ordered by the first shōgun of the Edo period, Tokugawa Ieyasu. It served to link the old capital of Japan, Kyoto, to Tokugawa's new capital, Edo. The Tōkaidō's post stations, known in Japanese as shukuba, were captured by the printmaker Utagawa Hiroshige in his ukiyo-e prints, The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō. In 1919, the first Road Act was passed, establishing a highway also called National Route 1 between Tokyo and the city of Shingū in Wakayama Prefecture partially along the current route. On 4 December 1952 the route was designated by the Cabinet of Japan as Primary National Highway 1 between Tokyo and Osaka, establishing the highway almost entirely along its current routing. On 1 April 1965 the route was redesignated as General National Route 1. ==Junction list==

All junctions listed are at-grade intersections unless noted otherwise. ==See also==

File:Nihonbashi 12.jpg|Nihonbashi, Tokyo terminus File:NationalRouteOneNijubashiM1115.jpg|Route 1 passes in front of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. File:Toji Route One IMG 1034.jpg|In Kyoto, Route 1 passes in front of Tō-ji. File:Umeda-Shimmichi Intersection - west view from pedestrian bridge.jpg|Western terminus of Route 1 in Umeda File:Tokyotower sakurada.jpg|Route 1 heading through Shiba towards Tokyo Tower ==References==