12. Tenryūgawa (Nagano, Aichi, Shizuoka)

Photographer’s comments: With its source in Mt. Koma in the Central Alps, the clear waters of the Tenryūgawa are cool and refreshing. But major rainfall turns the river into a raging torrent that lives up to its name, reminiscent of a dragon (ryū) storming up into the heavens (ten).

River data: With its source in Lake Suwa in Nagako Prefecture, the river merges with the numerous tributary streams that run down from the 3,000-meter peaks of the Southern and Central Japan Alps before passing through the plains by Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture and flowing into the Enshū Nada Sea. Length: 213km; Grade-one river.