Arakawa River

Overview

The Arakawa River is a 173-kilometre river that flows through Saitama Prefecture and Tokyo before emptying into Tokyo Bay. It is the main stream of the Arakawa river system, a Class A water system, with a total catchment area of 2,940 square kilometres. It originates on Mount Kobushi in Saitama Prefecture.

Highlights

• ●The 173-km main stream of the Arakawa system, draining 2,940 sq km
• ●Japan's widest river channel, reaching 2,537 m near Onari Bridge
• ●A course reshaped by Edo-period river engineering
• ●A Class A river cutting across the Kanto Plain from Saitama to Tokyo

History

The Arakawa has a history of having its course altered by the Arakawa westward-diversion project, a river-improvement undertaking carried out in the Edo period. This work reshaped the river into its present course. As the main stream of the Class A Arakawa river system, it is designated a Class A river, and it serves as one of Tokyo's major sources of tap water.

Map

36.1361, 139.3683 · Wikidata

Suggested itinerary

1. 1View the flow near the source in the upper reaches around Chichibu, Saitama
2. 2Confirm the exceptionally wide channel near Onari Bridge, said to be Japan's widest
3. 3Follow the flow across the Kanto Plain while walking along the embankments
4. 4Move downstream and look toward the mouth where it empties into Tokyo Bay

Did you know?

💡 Near Onari Bridge (Konosu and Yoshimi, Saitama Prefecture) the river channel reaches a width of 2,537 metres, said to be the widest in Japan.

Nearby spots