River · Japan
Shinano
The Shinano is the longest river in Japan and crosses the main island from the mountains to the coast. It reaches the Sea of Japan at the harbour city of Niigata after a long northward run.
Picture credit: Nihongo1234 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Bmazerolles (CC BY 4.0) · Sengoku40 (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is the Shinano?
The river starts here: Mount Kobushi in the Japanese Alps.
It ends in the Sea of Japan at Niigata.
Countries on the river: Japan.
The story behind it
The Shinano begins high on Mount Kobushi and rushes north through steep valleys before spreading out over a broad plain. This is one of the snowiest regions in the world, and when all that snow melts in spring the river carries enormous amounts of water. To stop the plain from flooding, engineers dug a huge channel called the Okozu Diversion, which sends extra water straight to the sea. The flat land it protects is famous for rice, and many people say the best Japanese rice grows here. Cherry trees line the banks in some towns, and in summer fireworks are set off above the water while crowds watch from bridges. Salmon and sweetfish, called ayu, swim upstream to spawn, and fishers still catch them the traditional way.
Questions children ask
How long is the Shinano?
The Shinano is about 367 kilometres long. No other river in Japan is longer, although in its upper part it carries the name Chikuma.
Which country does the Shinano flow through?
The Shinano flows only through Japan, across the prefectures of Nagano and Niigata. Its whole course lies on the main island of Honshu.
Where does the Shinano flow into?
The Shinano flows into the Sea of Japan at the city of Niigata. A second man-made channel carries part of its water to the coast nearby.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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