The concurrency of national routes 4 and 281 continues northeast, briefly crossing back in to Morioka, before entering the town of Iwate.

In the mountains, it passes through the town of Kuzumaki where it briefly has a concurrency with National Route 340.

Upon crossing over the crest of the mountains, the highway enters Kuji.

After passing through the central part of Kuji, the highway terminates at a junction with National Route 45.

[4] The highway served as an evacuation route for the city of Kuji following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and subsequent tsunami.