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| Tone River | |
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| Native name | 利根川 (Japanese) |
| Location | |
| Country | Japan |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Mount Ōminakami |
| • location | Minakami, Gunma |
| • coordinates | 37°03′16″N139°06′05″E / 37.05444°N 139.10139°E /37.05444; 139.10139 |
| • elevation | 1,831 m (6,007 ft) |
| Mouth | Pacific Ocean |
• location | Chōshi, Chiba |
• coordinates | 35°44′45″N140°51′07″E / 35.74583°N 140.85194°E /35.74583; 140.85194 |
• elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Length | 322 km (200 mi) |
| Basin size | 16,840 km2 (6,500 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 256 m3/s (9,000 cu ft/s) |
TheTone River (利根川,Tone-gawa;Japanese pronunciation:[to.ne.ɡa.wa,-ŋa.wa],locally[to.neꜜ.ɡa.wa,-ŋa.wa][1]) is a river in theKantō region ofJapan. It is 322 kilometers (200 mi) in length (the second longest in Japan after theShinano River) and has a drainage area of 16,840 square kilometers (6,500 sq mi) (the largest in Japan). It is nicknamedBandō Tarō (坂東太郎);Bandō is an obsolete alias of theKantō Region, andTarō is a popular given name for an oldest son.[2] It is regarded as one of the "Three Greatest Rivers" of Japan, the others being the Shinano River in northeasternHonshu and theIshikari River inHokkaido.
The source of the Tone River is atMount Ōminakami [Wikidata] (大水上山) (1,831 meters (6,007 ft)) in theEchigo Mountains, which straddle the border betweenGunma andNiigata Prefectures inJōshin'etsu Kōgen National Park.[2] The Tone gatherstributaries and pours into thePacific Ocean atCape Inubō,Choshi inChiba Prefecture.[3]
Major tributaries of the Tone River include theAgatsuma,Watarase,Kinu,Omoi, and theKokai River [Wikidata]. TheEdo River branches away from the river and flows intoTokyo Bay.
The Tone River was once known for its uncontrollable nature, and its route changed whenever floods occurred. It is hard to trace its ancient route, but it originally flowed intoTokyo Bay along the route of the present-dayEdo River, and tributaries like theWatarase andKinu had independent river systems. For the sake of water transportation and flood control, extensive construction began in the 17th century during theTokugawa shogunate, when the Kantō region became the political center of Japan.[4] The course of the river was significantly changed, and the present route of the river was determined during theMeiji period,[5] with the assistance of Dutch civil engineerAnthonie Rouwenhorst Mulder.[6] Its vast watershed is thus largely artificial.
Two ships of theImperial Japanese Navy were named after the river,one ofWorld War I vintage andanother fromWorld War II, thelead ship ofits class. A third modernship currently in service with theJapan Maritime Self-Defense Force is also named after the river.
As a result of theFukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster radioactive cesium concentrations of 110 becquerels per kilogram were found insilver crucian carp fish caught in the Tone River in April 2012. The river is 180 kilometres (110 mi) from the Fukushima Daiichi Plant. Six fishery cooperatives and 10 towns along the river were asked to stop all shipments of fish caught in the Tone.[7]
The Tone River was an indispensable inland water link between the capitol atEdo, and later Tokyo, to the Pacific Ocean. It carried not only local products likesoy sauce fromChoshi, but also products from theTōhoku region, in order to save time and to avoid risk in the open sea. With the advent of therailway in the 19th century major shipping on the Tone quickly declined, and inland ports such asNoda,Sekiyado, now part of Noda,Nagareyama, andSawara, now part ofKatori diminished in importance.[3] Today the river has severaldams that supply water for more than 30 million inhabitants of metropolitanTokyo and large-scale industrial areas such as theKeiyō Industrial Zone.
TheMinakamionsen area in Gunma Prefecture is near the source for the Tone River and during the spring snow melt period, April–June, the river provides consistent grade 4 rapids (on theInternational Scale of River Difficulty) over a 12 kilometers (7.5 mi) stretch. The river provides some of the best white waterrafting andkayaking in Japan. The snow melt swells the river to grade 4 in spring; in the summer it is a gentle grade 2. The Momijikyo section has 7 grade 3-4 rapids for 1 kilometer (0.62 mi) and is 12 kilometers (7.5 mi) long in total.[8]
The Tone River is home to Japan's longest car free cycling path. At over 220km long the Tone River Cycling Road 利根川サイクリングロード starts in Shibukawa City, Gunma and runs all the way to Choshi City, Chiba. The total route is over 230km but the final 10km or so into Choshi is on a road. The remaining 220km is on detached cycling paths high up on the river bank with great views of mountains while in Gunma and large rice fields and agriculture as you approach the ocean.[9]
Media related toTone River at Wikimedia Commons
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