Shimanto River

The Shimanto is 196 kilometres long and has no large dam on its main stem, which is why it is routinely called the last clear stream in Japan - a description that is comparative rather than absolute, since the water is not pristine, but the absence of a dam does keep the gravel moving and the flow natural. The chinkabashi are the river's signature: low concrete bridges built deliberately without railings, so that when the river rises the water passes over them without tearing them away. Around forty-seven of them cross the river and its tributaries, and driving or cycling across one, with the water a few centimetres below the deck and nothing at the edge, is the experience people remember. Canoes and flat sightseeing boats work the lower reaches, a cycle route follows the bank, and the river's food is ayu, eel and river shrimp.

The landscape

• No main-stem dam - the reason the gravel keeps moving and the flow stays natural.
• Chinkabashi - low bridges built without railings so floods pass over them.
• Around forty-seven crossings - on the river and its tributaries.
• River food - ayu, eel and freshwater shrimp from the same water.

When to go

April to October; summer for canoeing. Two days.

Practical notes

The railless bridges are genuinely unnerving and some are single-vehicle width. Public transport along the river is minimal - cycle or drive. The water is clear by Japanese standards rather than pristine. Typhoon season closes the low bridges entirely.

Nearby

Cape Ashizuri is south; Uwajima is north into Ehime.

Key facts