The highway crosses the central part Aomori Prefecture, linking Towada in the east to Hirosaki in the west. From Towada, the highway parallels the Oirase River to Lake Towada where it runs along the northern shore of the calderacrater lake. On the shore of the lake, it comes close to crossing into Akita Prefecture, but remains in Aomori. It then heads northwest passing through Hirakawa and Kuroishi. In Kuroishi, the road has a junction with the Tōhoku Expressway. West of this junction to the route's western terminus in Hirosaki, National Route 102 is designated as a Regional High-Standard Highway. The highway ends at a junction with National Route 7 near the center of Hirosaki.
History
National Route 102 was originally designated on 18 May 1953 as route connecting Hirosaki to Hachinohe.[2] On 1 April 1963, the route was shortened to Towada and the section between Towada and Hachinohe was incorporated into National Route 45.[3]
^"一般国道の路線別、都道府県別道路現況" [Road statistics by General National Highway route and prefecture] (PDF) (in Japanese). Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Retrieved 19 February 2020.