8–9. Arakawa (Saitama, Tokyo)

Photographer’s comments (above):
The remarkably skilled navigators who paddle the rafts down at Nagatoro in Chichibu have been delighting visitors to this area for more than a century. The river offers an abundance of attractions throughout the year: cherry blossoms in spring, cool breezes in summer, fall foliage in autumn, and beautiful snowbound scenery in winter. (Don’t forget to wrap up warm!)

Photographer’s comments (below):
Seen from a highway that courses above the streets of the capital, the Arakawa River glints in the evening sunlight like a huge snake winding its way elegantly through the high-tech metropolis, a strange and futuristic Space Odyssey of a river.

River data: From its source in Mt. Kobushi, the river passes through the heart of Tokyo before emptying into Tokyo Bay. Until barriers and dykes were built in the early 17th century, the river frequently flooded and was known as the Aregawa, or “unruly river.” Length: 173km long; Grade-one river.