25. Shirakawa (Kumamoto)

Photographer’s comments: Known for its superlative quality, the delicious water in this river has a distinctive taste: soft, mellow, and sweet. Rainwater collects in the Mt. Aso caldera, one of the biggest in the world, before being filtered through lava and emerging as springs flowing into this river.

River data: From its source in Mt. Neko in the Aso mountain range, flows through the Kumamoto plains and into the Ariake Sea. Length: 74km; Grade-one river.