(R11) Yanasegawa River 柳瀬川

The 柳瀬川 Yanasegawa やなせ川 is a surprisingly long river, covering more than 20 kilometers as it travels from Yamaguchi Reservoir 山口貯水池 (aka Sayama Lake 狭山湖) in the west (map) to the Shingashigawa river 新河岸川 in the east (map); the confluence of these two rivers is a popular spot for birds; 75 species were counted between 1997 and 2002 (source). This is due to the riverbed grasslands 河川敷の草地 and the large open fields neighboring the river (the 水谷田んぼ mizutani tanbo). It’s also a popular spot for the (mythical) kappa 河童 water creatures who are depicted here with many statues. (See post: Kappa statues, Shiki city, Saitama)

Yanasegawa river details:

• River system: Arakawa
• River source: Yamaguchi Reservoir 山口貯水池 (aka Sayama Lake 狭山湖) (Tokorozawa-shi, Saitama)
  
• End: Shingashigawa river 新河岸川 (Shiki City, Saitama)
• Length: 26.8 km per Wikipedia ; ~21.9 km per my map
• Wikipedia page (Japanese)

Photos:

The scene by Shinmei Bridge 神明橋 (map)

Grassy riverbed (map)

River narrows (map):

An oxbow (and kappa sign) (map). Sign says, かっぱもよろこぶ, telling us to keep the river clean so that Kappa can enjoy it too 🙂

Links:

• Birds on the Yanasegawa, near the Shingashigawa (Japanese)
• Mizutani tanbo 水谷田んぼ open rice fields, watershed area (Japanese)
• Walking Along Yanasegawa River
• Kappa statues, Shiki city, Saitama
• A row of billboard architecture (kanban kenchiku) in Tokorozawa, near the start of the river