National Route 58 (国道58号, Kokudō Gojūhachi-gō) is a Japanese national highway connecting the capital cities Kagoshima and Naha of Kagoshima Prefecture and Okinawa Prefecture, respectively. With a total length of 884.4 kilometers (549.5 mi), it is the longest national highway in Japan, though it measures only 245.2 kilometers (152.4 mi) on land. The highway begins at an intersection with National Routes 3 and 10 in Kagoshima. From Kagoshima, it travels southwest along the first island chain that divides the Pacific Ocean from the East China Sea. From the north to the south, it has sections on the islands of Tanegashima, Amami Ōshima, and finally, Okinawa. On Okinawa it ends at an intersection with National Routes 330, 331, and 390 in Naha.
Route description
National Route 58 as seen from Michinoeki Kyoda in Nago
This unusual, yet scenic, island highway is made up of several disconnected segments across the islands of Kyūshū, Tanegashima, Amami Ōshima, and Okinawa. The road has a total length of 245.2-kilometer-long (152.4 mi) on land, but it has a length of 884.4 kilometers (549.5 mi) when its maritime sections are included into its total length,[1] making it the longest national highway in Japan.[2] It originates in the prefectural capital of Kagoshima in Kagoshima Prefecture and terminates in Naha, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture.[3]
Kagoshima Prefecture
At its northern terminus, National Route 58 meets National Routes 3, 10, 224, 225, and 226. The segment in the city of Kagoshima has a length of about 700 meters (2,300 ft) and also carries National Route 224 towards the Port of Kagoshima.[4] At the port, National Route 224 leaves National Route 58, continuing by ferry to the city of Tarumizu beyond the stratovolcano, Sakurajima.[5]
Heading south by ferry, the highway resumes its land route in Nishinoomote on the northern end of Tanegashima. It travels alongside the western coast of the island within Nishinoomote. Upon crossing into the town, Nakatane, the highway ventures inland, heading towards the central district of the town. Continuing south the highway crosses into the town, Minamitane on the southern end of Tanegashima. After traveling through the center of Minamitane, the highway turns northwest and heads towards the west coast of the island where the maritime section of the highway resumes at the Port of Shimama. Unlike the previous maritime section, no ferry carries the highway from Shimama to its next land segment on Amami Ōshima. In all, the highway has a length of 49.7 kilometers (30.9 mi) on Tanegashima.[4]
Resuming its land route in the Amami Ōshima city of Amami, the highway travels southeast across the island from its northeastern tip. The highway crosses through the town of Tatsugo and then returns into the city of Amami. After passing through the central part of the city, the highway curves to the south, traveling towards the island's eastern coast. It then curves to the west, heading towards the south-central part of the island. It curves to the south once and crosses into Setouchi. Upon reaching the island's southern coast, the highway curves to the southwest, heading towards the Setouchi's central district on the southwestern end of Amami Ōshima. In the center of the town the highway's land section ends once again. Like the previous maritime section, there is no ferry between Amami Ōshima and the highway's land section on Okinawa. In all, the highway has a length of 72.7 kilometers (45.2 mi) on Amami Ōshima.[4]
Okinawa Prefecture
The highway's final land segment starts near the Port of Oku in Kunigami at the northern tip of Okinawa Island. It travels around the edges of Cape Hedo from the point's eastern side to the west coast of the cape and then curves to the southwest running along the western coast of the island to the highway's southern terminus in Naha. Further to the south along the coast, the highway crosses into the village of Ōgimi. In the village the highway meets National Route 331 on the northern shore of Shioya Bay. As the highway leaves the village and crosses in the city of Nago, it curves to the west. It then meets National Route 505, and proceeds to the south, leaving the coast and crossing the bottom of the Motobu Peninsula.[4]
As the highway approaches central Nago, it has an intersection with the Nago-higashi Bypass, an alternate route of National Route 58. Upon reaching central Nago, the highway meets the Nago Bypass, an alternate route of National Route 449. Curving to the south, the highway meets the mainline of National Route 449. Here the highway meets the western coast of Okinawa once more and continues traveling alongside it away from central Nago. Near the southern limits of the city the highway meets the northern end of the Okinawa Expressway,[4] a tolled, limited-access highway that parallels National Route 58 to the east from Nago to Naha.[6] The national highway continues south along the coast passing through the rural villages of Onna and Yomitan.[4]
In the town of Kadena, the highway curves its way around the northwestern and western edges of the United States Air Force's Kadena Air Base. Proceeding south, the highway then goes through the town of Chatan and its American Village, a shopping and entertainment district that boast American themes.[7] The town is also home to the United States Marine CorpsCamp Lester. The highway curves to the southwest after leaving Chatan and entering the city of Ginowan, home to the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. The highway travels along the northern edge of the installation, here an auxiliary route of National Route 58, the Ginowan Bypass, travels further to the north along the coast. The two highways meet after they cross into the city of Urasoe. Another US military installation, Camp Kinser, is located to the west of the National Route 58 in Urasoe while the central district of the city lies to the east of the route.[7][4]
Crossing into Naha, the last stretch of the highway is six lanes wide in the city. The highway is flanked by shops and sites that display the influence the American occupation had on the city.[7] The highway ends at a junction just north of Meiji Bridge with National Routes 330, 331, and 390.[4][3]
History
Government Highway 1 in 1954
The precursor to what would eventually become National Route 58 on Okinawa was originally established in the 15th century during the reign of Shō Kinpuku, ruler of the Ryukyu Kingdom. Shō Kinpuku ordered the construction of a road, called the Yanbaru-kokudō (やんばる国道) that traveled all of the way around Okinawa. National Route 58 is mostly situated along the western route of the Yanbaru-kokudō.[8] The Yanbaru-kokudō was designated as an Okinawa Prefecture Road in 1915 between the cities of Nago and Naha.[8]
The direct predecessors to National Route 58 in Okinawa are Military Road 1, which was established during the Battle of Okinawa and maintained by United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands, and Government Highway 1, which was maintained by the Government of the Ryukyu Islands until the islands were returned to Japan. The highway functioned as the island's main road during World War II and the subsequent US administration of the region.[9] Military Road 1 was captured during the early stages of the Battle of Okinawa and it was quickly redeveloped by Japanese prisoners of war to facilitate the US effort to capture the island—and occupy it. The highway was mainly developed as a high-speed logistics route for the US military that could carry vehicles weighing up to 35 tons. It was re-designated as Government Highway 1 during the civil administration of the island, but the US military's vehicles still took priority over the local Okinawan driving community, who were not allowed to pass US military convoys and vehicles.[10][7] After the return of the Ryukyu Islands from the United States to Japan on 15 May 1972, the aforementioned highways were all re-designated as a part of National Route 58. It remains the only Japanese national highway to be given a two-digit number following the reclassification of the Primary and Secondary National Highways as the General National Highways in 1965.[9] Until 30 July 1978, traffic on National Route 58 in Okinawa Prefecture drove on the right rather than the left. After the 730 switch, Okinawa joined the rest of Japan in driving on the left in accordance to the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic.[11]
Major intersections
The list below does not account for distances on the highway's maritime sections.
Kagoshima Prefecture Route 82 east – Amami Airport, Cape Ayamaru, Amami Park
63.2
39.3
Kagoshima Prefecture Route 81 west – Akina, the Remains of Nanshū Saigō
66.5
41.3
Kagoshima Prefecture Route 611 south – Tagumo, Toguchi
Amami
78.1
48.5
Kagoshima Prefecture Route 79 south – Yamato, Oshima Branch Office, Amami City Office Kagoshima Prefecture Route 81 east – Yamato, Ohama Seaside Park, Naze Port
83.6
51.9
Kagoshima Prefecture Route 607 east – Amami Ōshima Pongee Fabric Dyeing Park, Kominato
98.4
61.1
Kagoshima Prefecture Route 609 east – Yanma, Amami Island
National Route 58 south (Onna Bypass) – Naha, Kadena
204.0
126.8
National Route 58 north (Onna Bypass) – Ocean Expo Park (Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium), Nago Okinawa Prefecture Route 88 south – to Okinawa Expressway, Yaka
204.8
127.3
National Route 58 south (Onna-minami Bypass) – Naha, Kadena
210.6
130.9
National Route 58 north (Onna-minami Bypass) – Ocean Expo Park (Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium), Nago Okinawa Prefecture Route 73 east – to Okinawa Expressway, Uruma
211.9
131.7
Okinawa Prefecture Route 6 east – Higashionna
Northern end of Okinawa Prefecture Route 6 concurrency
212.8
132.2
Okinawa Prefecture Route 6 west – Cape Zanpa
Southern end of Okinawa Prefecture Route 6 concurrency
Okinawa Prefecture Route 43 south – Tomari Wharf, Tsushima Maru Memorial Museum
243.9
151.6
Okinawa Prefecture Route 221 south / Okinawa Prefecture Route 222 east – Matsuo
244.3
151.8
National Route 58 south (Naha West Road) – Wakasa, Naminoue Beach, Fukushūen Garden Okinawa Prefecture Route 42 south – Okinawa Prefectural Office, Prefectural Office Station, Makishi Public Market, Kokusai Street
^"身近な道路が実は"日本一"!?日本一の国道を走ろう！（その1）" [The familiar road is actually the best in Japan!? Let's drive on the best national road in Japan! (Part 1)]. On the Road (in Japanese). Toyo Tire Corporation. 29 October 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
^ ab一般国道の路線を指定する政令 [Cabinet Order Designating General National Routes] (in Japanese). Cabinet of Japan. 1965. Retrieved 1 September 2020 – via Wikisource.
^"一般国道２２４号 起点 鹿児島県枕崎市 ～ 終点 鹿児島県鹿児島市" [General National Highway 224 starting point, Makurazaki, Kagoshima Prefecture to ending point, Kagoshima, Kagoshima Prefecture]. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism - Kyushu Highway Research Office. 2003. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
^"道路の整備 - 沖縄県" [Road Maintenance - Okinawa Prefecture] (PDF) (in Japanese). Okinawa Prefecture. 1 April 2019. Archived from the original(PDF) on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
^"やんばる国道物語" [Story of the Yanbaru-kokudō] (in Japanese). Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism - Okinawa Northern National Road Office. 2008. p. 70. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
