Driving in Japan R108 | Road trip from Fukushima to Niigata in the Tohoku region with heavy snowfall

Route 108 is an important arterial road connecting the Pacific Ocean side and the Sea of Japan side, running from the Route 45 intersection in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, through Ōsaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, Yuzawa City, Akita Prefecture, and other major cities to the Route 7 intersection in Yurihonjō City, Akita Prefecture.
It has long been called Ishinomaki-betsu Kaidō or Ugo Kaido, and was part of the Dewa-Sendai Kaido.
The route used to be closed during winter due to heavy snowfall, but the Onikōbe Road, which crosses the Ōu Mountains, has been constructed, and the road is now open to traffic year-round.
Departure : Route 108 Start point (Maruido intersection = intersection of Route 45) - Hebita, Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture
Arrival : Route 108 End point (Mizubayashi Intersection = Route 7 intersection, Route 105 Start point, Routes 107, 341, and 398 End point) - Mizubayashi, Yurihonjō City, Akita Prefecture
Date : Late February, 2023
Distance : Approximately 184 km (as measured by Google Maps)
Route map: www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/emb...
List of roads listed on map: mesorian.com/national-highway
00:00:00 Intro
00:02:11 Route 108 Start point (Maruido intersection = Route 45 intersection) - Hebita, Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture
00:05:40 Miyagi Prefectural Road 16 Ishinomaki Kashimadai Ōhira Line intersection - Akanedaira, Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture
00:14:07 Miyagi Prefectural Road 43 Yamoto Kanan Line Intersection - Hirobuchi, Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture
00:26:35 Route 346 intersection - Wakuya-chō, Tōda County, Miyagi Prefecture
00:33:22 Misato-machi, Tōda County, Miyagi Prefecture
00:45:09 Furukawa Tsurugasone, Ōsaki City, Miyagi Prefecture
00:51:38 Roadside Station Ōsaki - Furukawa Senjūji-chō, Ōsaki City, Miyagi Prefecture
00:53:05 Route 4 intersection / Route 47 Overlap - Furukawa, Ōsaki City, Miyagi Prefecture
00:54:43 E4 TŌHOKU EXPWY, Furukawa IC - Furukawa Niida, Ōsaki City, Miyagi Prefecture
01:05:24 Route 457 intersection - Iwadeyama, Ōsaki City, Miyagi Prefecture
01:14:41 Roadside Station A-La-Datena Michinoeki - Iwadeyama Iketsuki, Ōsaki City, Miyagi Prefecture
01:25:09 ← Higashi Naruko Onsen (hot spring) - Naruko Onsen Nakano, Ōsaki City, Miyagi Prefecture
01:28:54 ↑Route 108 Hanabuchiyama Bypass direction | →Route 108 Old road - Naruko Onsen Shin'yashiki, Ōsaki City, Miyagi Prefecture
01:32:14 Naruko Dam Parking Lot - Naruko Onsen Iwabuchi, Ōsaki City, Miyagi Prefecture
01:40:03 ← Route 108 Hanabuchiyama Bypass | → Route 108 Current Road - Naruko Onsen Onikōbe, Ōsaki City, Miyagi Prefecture
01:48:41 Miyagi Prefectural Road 248 Numakura Naruko Line intersection - Naruko Onsen Onikōbe, Ōsaki City, Miyagi Prefecture
02:05:46 Border: Naruko Onsen, Ōsaki City, Miyagi Prefecture → Akinomiya, Yuzawa City, Akita Prefecture
02:14:51 Akinomiya Onsenkyō (hot spring resort) - Akinomiya, Yuzawa City, Akita Prefecture
02:20:17 Akita Prefectural Road 310 Akinomiya Oyasu Onsen Line intersection - Kosugiyama, Akinomiya, Yuzawa City, Akita Prefecture
02:28:12 Akita / Yamagata Prefectural Road 73 Ogachi Kaneyama Line intersection - Kuwasawa, Akinomiya, Yuzawa City, Akita Prefecture
02:37:19 Route 13 Overlap - Yokobori, Yuzawa City, Akita Prefecture
02:41:44 Route 13 Overlap end - Kamanoue, Kamiinnai, Yuzawa City, Akita Prefecture
02:49:51 Matsunoki Tunnel, Length 1744m - Ōsawa, Kamiinnai, Yuzawa City, Akita Prefecture
02:54:04 Matsunoki Park - Kamijinego Yaheizawa, Chōkai-machi, Yurihonjō City, Akita Prefecture
02:59:04 Roadside Station Shimizu no sato Chōkaigō - Sakaidai, Kamijinego, Chōkai-machi, Yurihonjō City, Akita Prefecture
03:08:54 Kogawa Bridge (Jinego River) - Shimokogawa, Kogawa, Chōkai-machi, Yurihonjō City, Akita Prefecture
03:17:10 Akita Prefectural Road 291 Ōkawabata Fushimi Line intersection - Fushimi Akashibu, Chōkai-machi, Yurihonjō City, Akita Prefecture
03:24:50 Akita Prefectural Road 58 Kisakata Yashima Line intersection - Motomachimagi, Yashima-machi, Yurihonjō City, Akita Prefecture
03:30:49 ⇒ Kawabe Station (Yuri Kōgen Railway Chōkaisanroku Line) - Yashima-machi Kawabe, Yurihonjō City, Akita Prefecture
03:40:00 Akita Prefectural Road 171 Maegō Teishajō Line intersection - Moriko Myōhōshita, Yurihonjō City, Akita Prefecture
03:45:20 Akita Prefectural Road 43 Honjō Nishime Line intersection - Tamanoike, Yurihonjō City, Akita Prefecture
03:48:53 Yakushidō Station (Yuri Kōgen Railway Chōkaisanroku Line) - Yakushidō Yamazaki, Yurihonjō City, Akita Prefecture
03:50:48 Route 105 and 107 Overlap - Ichibanzeki, Yurihonjō City, Akita Prefecture
03:54:55 Route 108, end (Mizuhayashi Intersection = Route 7 intersection, Route 105 starting point, Route 107, 341, 398 ending point) - Mizuhayashi, Yurihonjo City, Akita Prefecture

[@user-jv4ud4pz3b]

凄い😂このルート走りました。6月でした。やはり、秋ﾉ宮から鳥海町は、雪があるんですねぇ。因みに矢島から象潟に、鳥海山目指してよく行きます。岩がき食べに。本当に　お疲れ様でした🎉。太平洋から、日本海　万歳🙌愛知とか、長野、東京、千葉とか、走ってますが、石巻迄来るのに、どちらから来るのか、時間かかってますよね。😂道の駅象潟で、展望温泉でも入って、ゆっくり休んで欲しかったです😁

[@mesorian]

自分のタイムラインを辿ったところ道の駅象潟は6年前に訪れてました。 おそらく時間の都合で展望温泉には入らず、そこから近い鳥海温泉遊楽里で朝風呂に入り、そのあと十六羅漢岩をみてその日の夜には青森の五所川原というなかなかのスケジュールだったようで我ながらよく走る・・・

[@awsawse9186]

Goooood from iraq

[@roadsexplore]

A lot of snow in the second part of the video, sometimes also on the road. Must have been a great experience to drive there, do you have to use spikes on such roads also? Thanks for the video, greetings from a roadtripper from Germany!

[@mesorian]

From the beginning to the end, we did not use tire chains, but only Bridgestone spike (studless) tires. The urban road surfaces where the snow has melted and hardened again to form a film of ice are scarier than roads with a lot of snow on them because they are slippery like a skating rink.

[@brommer1755]

👍👏👏❄🚘🗾