Tamagawa

We caught an evening run on the Yamagata’s Upper Tamagawa at high water which gave us a couple challenging class V rapids. Unlike most of Japan’s whitewater, this run is not dam controlled and it was great to paddle a natural free-flowing river. With majestic snow-capped mountains in the background, dense forested hillslopes lining the river, and a traditional Japanese farmhouses, it was the most scenic river of the trip.

After we loaded up the boats we returned to a hotspring that was right along the banks of the river. This has become our favorite evening tradition as we enjoyed a hot spring bath on every night of the trip—Harry remarked that he had never been so clean on a boating trip before.

We awoke the next morning to paddle the lower Tamagawa. Harry ran shuttle and decided to work on his boat some more while we enjoyed a great day of paddling some great class IV rapids. Although this river would be hard to catch without the consistency of a dependent dam release, it’s truly a whitewater gem and one of Japan’s finest runs.