National Route 197 is a Japanese national highway running on the islands of Kyūshū and Shikoku. The 223.1-kilometer-long highway originates at a junction with Routes 10 and 210 in Ōita and terminates

Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is 225 kilometres long and between 50 and 150 kilometres wide. It has a population of 3.5 million, the least of Japan's four main islands.