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| 国道197号 | ||||
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| Route information | ||||
| Length | 223.1 km[1] (138.6 mi) | |||
| Existed | 1 April 1963–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |   National Route 10 /National Route 210 inŌita | |||
| East end |  National Route 56 inSusaki, Kōchi | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | Japan | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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National Route 197 (国道197号,Kokudō Hyaku-kyūjū-nana-gō) is aJapanese national highway running on the islands ofKyūshū andShikoku. The 223.1-kilometer-long (138.6 mi) highway originates at a junction with Routes10 and210 inŌita and terminates at a junction withRoute 56 inSusaki, Kōchi. The route is interrupted between Saganoseki area ofŌita (where it joins withRoute 217) andIkata, Ehime because of theHōyo Strait, and traffic between the two islands is carried by aferry between the two towns. Though the gap is less than 15 km at the strait's narrowest point, there are currently no plans to bridge the gap.
Route 197 was originally designated on 18 May 1953 from Matsuyama to Kōchi. This was redesignated asRoute 56 on 1 April 1963.
The road is affectionately nicknamed "Melody Line". As a result, it gained twomusical road segments located in Ikata, the first of which was placed on the road to celebrate its anniversary of being built in 2011, so the road could literally have a "melody". The second segment was not completed until 2018. Two Japanese folk songs can be heard, one in each direction, when these short segments of the road are driven over. The songs are created by grooves in the roadway (rumble strips) arranged to form melodies.[2]
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