Japan National Route 280

National Route 280
国道280号
Japan National Route 280 highlighted in red
Route information
Length	171.7 km[1] (106.7 mi) Distance does not include the defunct Minmaya-Fukushima ferry route, but does include bypasses signed with the same route number
Existed	1 April 1970–present
Major junctions
North end	National Route 5 in Hakodate, Hokkaido
Major intersections	National Route 228 Minmaya-Fukushima Ferry across Tsugaru Strait (defunct) National Route 339
South end	National Route 7 in Aomori, Aomori
Location
Country	Japan
Highway system
National highways of Japan Expressways of Japan
← National Route 279 → National Route 281

National Route 280 (国道280号, Kokudō Nihyaku hachi-jugō) is a national highway of Japan that traverses the prefectures, Aomori and Hokkaido as well as the Tsugaru Strait that separates them. It currently is made up of two sections that travel 150.7 kilometres (93.6 mi) from Aomori, north across the Tsugaru Peninsula to Sotogahama where the first section ends at the site of a former ferry to across the Tsugaru Strait to the town, Fukushima. The other section begins at the corresponding former ferry terminal in Fukushima. The road then travels alongside the southern coast of Hokkaido concurrently with National Route 228 to Hakodate where the route meets its northern terminus.

National Route 280's path across Aomori and Hokkaido follows one of the oldest roads in northern Japan, the Matsumaedō. It was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu for government officials traveling through the area as a branch of the Edo Five Routes and it had some defensive importance to the Japanese who feared a Russian incursion into Ezo, which was ruled by the Matsumae clan.^[2]