Japan
Shimanto River
Japan's last clear stream, where bridges are built to vanish beneath every flood.
No large dam blocks the river. The Shimanto flows 196 kilometres from the mountains of Shikoku to the Pacific without one, which is why Japan calls it the last clear stream. The water runs green through forested gorges, past gravel banks wide enough to camp on, and under bridges designed to be swallowed by floods and survive.
The Shimanto's chinkabashi — sinking bridges built low and without parapets — are engineered to let floodwater wash over them rather than tear them away, and some forty-eight of them cross the river along its length. The river feeds sweetfish, river prawns and eel, caught by local fishermen with traditional methods and grilled at riverside shacks in season, and its river nori is a local industry. Canoeing and rafting the gentle lower reaches are among Shikoku's most accessible days out, with operators providing boats and a pick-up downstream.
Solo
Drifting a canoe downstream for hours with no schedule and the river setting the pace — the Shimanto's pace matches the solo traveller's ideal rhythm.
Couple
A two-person canoe, a riverside lunch of grilled sweetfish, and a bridge that sits a hand's width above the water — the Shimanto is romance at its most unscripted.
Family
A guided paddle on the lower river, a picnic on a gravel bank and the small thrill of crossing a railing-free bridge on foot make the Shimanto a family outing — life jackets on for everyone afloat, and the guide's word is the rule.
- Japan's last clear stream — no large dam interrupts 196 kilometres of green water through forested gorges.
- Some forty-eight chinkabashi sinking bridges sit low without railings, built to be swallowed by floods and survive.
- Canoe and rafting operators run the gentle lower river, with pick-ups downstream when the drift is done.
- River prawns, sweetfish and eel are grilled over charcoal at riverside shacks open in summer.
River ayu sweetfish, salted and charcoal-roasted on a skewer, crisp fins and all.
Shimanto river nori in tempura — delicate, crunchy, tasting of fresh water rather than sea.
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