TSV
Rivers of Japan - TSV
Japan's rivers are characterized by many short, rapid-flowing rivers due to the topographical feature that approximately 70% of the country is mountainous. There are approximately 35,000 rivers nationwide, of which 109 river systems with 14,083 rivers are designated as first-class rivers, and 2,710 river systems with 7,081 rivers are designated as second-class rivers. The Shinano River (367km) is the longest in Japan, while the Tone River holds the record for the largest basin area at 16,840km². These rivers are managed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and respective prefectures from the perspectives of flood control, water utilization, and environmental conservation.
rivers
first-class rivers
second-class rivers
Shinano River
Tone River
MLIT
flood control
water utilization
code slug name description basinAreaKm2 lengthKm mouth prefectures ranking riverClass source
01 shinano-river Shinano River The longest river in Japan, flowing from Nagano Prefecture to Niigata Prefecture into the Sea of Japan. 11900 367 Sea of Japan (Niigata City) ["長野県","新潟県"] 1 一級河川 Mount Kobushi (Nagano Prefecture)
02 tone-river Tone River The river with the largest basin area in Japan, flowing through the Kanto Plain into the Pacific Ocean. 16840 322 Pacific Ocean (Choshi City) ["群馬県","栃木県","埼玉県","茨城県","千葉県","東京都"] 2 一級河川 Mount Ominesan (Gunma Prefecture)
03 ishikari-river Ishikari River The longest river in Hokkaido, famous for salmon fishing. 14330 268 Sea of Japan (Ishikari City) ["北海道"] 3 一級河川 Mount Ishikari (Hokkaido)
04 teshio-river Teshio River The second longest river in Hokkaido, known as a famous canoeing spot. 5590 256 Sea of Japan (Teshio Town) ["北海道"] 4 一級河川 Mount Teshio (Hokkaido)
05 kitakami-river Kitakami River A representative river of the Tohoku region, famous for the cherry blossom trees at Kitakami Tenshochi. 10150 249 Pacific Ocean (Ishinomaki City) ["岩手県","宮城県"] 5 一級河川 Yumiya-no-Izumi spring (Iwate Prefecture)
06 abukuma-river Abukuma River A river flowing through Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures, with tourist attractions such as the Abukuma Line boat tours. 5400 239 Pacific Ocean (Sendai Plain) ["福島県","宮城県"] 6 一級河川 Mount Asahi (Fukushima Prefecture)
07 mogami-river Mogami River A rapid river flowing through Yamagata Prefecture, known from Matsuo Basho's haiku. 7040 229 Sea of Japan (Sakata City) ["山形県"] 7 一級河川 Mount Azuma (Yamagata Prefecture)
08 kiso-river Kiso River A river flowing from Nagano Prefecture to Mie Prefecture into Ise Bay. 9100 229 Ise Bay ["長野県","岐阜県","愛知県","三重県"] 7 一級河川 Mount Hachimori (Nagano Prefecture)
09 tenryu-river Tenryu River A river flowing through Nagano, Aichi, and Shizuoka prefectures into the Enshu Sea. 5050 213 Pacific Ocean (Enshu Sea) ["長野県","愛知県","静岡県"] 9 一級河川 Lake Suwa (Nagano Prefecture)
10 aganogawa-river Agano River A river flowing through Fukushima and Niigata prefectures, winding through deep mountains. 7710 210 Sea of Japan (Niigata City) ["福島県","新潟県"] 10 一級河川 Mount Araumi (Fukushima Prefecture)
15 fuji-river Fuji River One of Japan's three great rapid rivers, flowing through Shizuoka Prefecture. 3990 128 Suruga Bay ["長野県","山梨県","静岡県"] 15 一級河川 Mount Noko (Yamanashi Prefecture)
B7 yodo-river Yodo River A river flowing through the center of the Kinki region, with the largest basin population in western Japan. 8240 75 Osaka Bay ["滋賀県","京都府","大阪府","兵庫県","奈良県","三重県"] 一級河川 Lake Biwa (Shiga Prefecture)