is a Class A river in Hokkaidō, Japan. It flows through Hiyama District, and empties into the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...

. It is the only Class A river in Southern Hokkaidō, and thus is considered to be extremely important for agriculture and

flood control Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...

. The river has been voted the "Cleanest River in Japan" by the

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism The , abbreviated MLIT, is a ministry of the Japanese government.国土交通省設置法 ...

(MLIT) 10 times between 1987 and 2006.

Geography

The Shiribeshi-Toshibetsu river originates from the ridge between

Mount Taihei Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish ...

and Mount Oshamambe-dake. Its catchment area is and its stream length is . The river flows through Imakane,

Setana is a town located in Hiyama Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. As of September 2016, the town has an estimated population of 8,501, and a density of 13 persons per km². The total area is 638.67 km². Geography Setana is located on the north ...

. and

Kitahiyama, Hokkaido was a town located in Setana District, Hiyama Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. As of 2004, the town had an estimated population of 5,908 and a density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of ...

Climate

The basin is located at the northern limit of the

temperate climate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...

and is relatively warm due to the influence of the

Tsushima Current The , also known as the Black or or the is a north-flowing, warm ocean current on the west side of the North Pacific Ocean basin. It was named for the deep blue appearance of its waters. Similar to the Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic, the Ku ...

moving northward across the Sea of Japan.

Origin of name

The name ''Shiribeshi-Toshibetsu'' was formed by adding the word ''Shiribeshi'' to distinguish the river from the Toshibetsu River in

Tokachi Subprefecture is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan corresponding to the old province of Tokachi.Rowthorn, Chris. (2009) ''Japan,'' p. 641 As of 2004, its estimated population is 360,802 and its area is 10,830.99 km2. Tokachi-Obihiro Airp ...

. Shiribeshi was the name of a province which existed between 1869 and 1882. The name ''Toshibetsu'' is thought to originate from the

Ainu Ainu or Aynu may refer to: *Ainu people, an East Asian ethnic group of Japan and the Russian Far East *Ainu languages, a family of languages **Ainu language of Hokkaido **Kuril Ainu language, extinct language of the Kuril Islands **Sakhalin Ainu la ...

words ''toshu betsu'', meaning 'meandering river', or ''to ushi betsu'', meaning 'river with many marshes'.

References

Rivers of Hokkaido Rivers of Japan {{Japan-river-stub