The is a river located in eastern

Aomori Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori (city), Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is border ...

, in the

Tōhoku region The , Northeast region, , or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku retains ...

of northern

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. __NOTOC__ The Oirase River is the only river that drains

Lake Towada is the largest Volcanic crater lake, crater lake in Honshū island, Japan. Located on the border between Aomori Prefecture, Aomori and Akita Prefecture, Akita prefectures, it lies 400 meters (1,800 ft) above sea level and is 327 m ...

, a large

caldera lake A volcanic crater lake is a lake in a crater that was formed by explosive activity or a collapse during a volcanic eruption. Formation Lakes in calderas fill large craters formed by the collapse of a volcano during an eruption. Lakes in maars ...

that lies on the border of Aomori and

Akita Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Provinces and prefectures" in ; "Tōhoku" in . Its population is estimated 915,691 as of 1 August 2023 and its geographi ...

s. The river flows in a generally eastern direction, through the municipalities of Towada, Rokunohe, Oirase, and Hachinohe before exiting into the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. The upper reaches of the river form a scenic gorge with numerous rapids and waterfalls, and is one of the major tourist attractions of the

Towada-Hachimantai National Park Towada-Hachimantai National Park is a national park comprising two separate areas of Aomori, Iwate, and Akita Prefectures, Japan. The Towada-Hakkōda area encompasses Lake Towada, Mount Hakkōda, and most of the chimantai area includes Mount ...

. The lower reaches of the river are used extensively for irrigation. In 1996 the sound of flowing water at the Oirase River was selected by the Ministry of the Environment as one of the

100 Soundscapes of Japan The are a number of noises selected by the Ministry of the Environment (Japan), Ministry of the Environment as particularly representative of the country. They were chosen in 1996, as part of government efforts to combat noise pollution and to prot ...

Gallery

File:MG 7982s.jpg, Chōshi Falls File:雲井の滝 - panoramio.jpg, Kumoi Falls File:奧入瀨川石窟 Rock cave at Oirase River - panoramio.jpg, Rock cave at Oirase River File:奧入瀨川 Oirase Creek - panoramio (1).jpg, Oirase River

References

External links

Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) home page

Notes

Rivers of Aomori Prefecture Towada, Aomori Rokunohe, Aomori Oirase, Aomori Hachinohe Rivers of Japan {{Japan-river-stub