Arakawa River (Kantō)

Arakawa River
Arakawa River
	A bend in the Arakawa River
	Location of mouth in Japan
Native name	荒川 (Japanese)
Location
Country	Japan
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Mount Kobushi (甲武信ヶ岳)
• elevation	2,475 m (8,120 ft)
Mouth
• location	Tokyo Bay
Length	173 km (107 mi)
Basin features
River system	Arakawa

The Arakawa River or Ara River (Japanese: 荒川, Hepburn: Arakawa, "kawa" (川) already means "river") is a 173-kilometre (107 mi) long river that flows through Saitama Prefecture and Tokyo.^[1] Its average flow in 2002 was 30m³/s.

It originates on Mount Kobushi in Saitama Prefecture, and empties into Tokyo Bay.^[2] It has a total catchment area of 2,940 km² (1,140 sq mi).

The river is one of Tokyo's major sources of tap water, and together with the Tone River, accounts for around 80% of Tokyo's water supply as of 2018.^[3] The Okubo water purification plant takes water from the river.

History[edit]

Attempts to control flooding of the Arakawa River have been made since the area that is now Tokyo became the de facto capital of Japan during the Edo period. Following a major flood in 1910 that damaged a large part of central Tokyo, a 22-kilometre (14 mi) long drainage canal was constructed between 1911 and 1924. In 1996 an agreement was signed to make it a "sister river" of the Potomac River in the eastern United States.^[2] This means that officials and volunteers from both river areas collaborate with each other.^[4]

In popular culture[edit]

This river is also depicted in many anime such as Toaru Kagaku no Railgun and Arakawa Under the Bridge, which is set on the riverbank.

The Arakawa forms the backdrop for a significant part of the storyline in the 2010 crime drama video game Yakuza 4.

References[edit]

^ "Our Planet: Arakawa River". Planet Labs. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
^ ^a ^b "(Arakawa - Potomac sister rivers)". Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin. 27 January 2012. Archived from the original on December 27, 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
^ "水系別貯水量の推移 | 水源・水質 | 東京都水道局". www.waterworks.metro.tokyo.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2018-08-27.
^ "Potomac Basin Reporter". msa.maryland.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-25.