Minakami Facts and Figures
Minakami (みなかみ町, Minakami-machi) is a town located in Tone District, Gunma. It is the largest and northernmost town in the prefecture bordering Niigata prefecture.
The town was created on October 1, 2005, when the old Minakami merged with Niiharu, and Tsukiyono.
As of 2006, the town has an estimated population of 23,189 and a density of 29 persons per km². The total area is 780.91 km².
Mountains: Tanigawadake, Mount Mikuni, Mount Sennokura, Mount Ōmine, Asahidake, Hiragatake
Rivers: Tone River, Akatani River
Lakes: Lake Okutone, Lake Naramata
Dams: Yagisawa Dam, Naramata Dam, Fujiwara Dam, Aimata Dam, Sudagai Dam
When visitors from Tokyo arrive in Minakami they are immediately awestruck not only by the sheer presence of the Tanigawa mountain range but also the quality and crispness of the air that sweeps down through the valley from the mountains.
However, the Minakami area is most famous for its hotsprings or onsen for which it has been truely blessed with an abundance.
Minakami is most famous for:
Onsen
Mt Tanigawa (Autumn leaves)
White water rafting
Fruit and veges (especially apples)
Skiing and snowboarding
Fresh water
The Tone River
Minakami-machi prides itself as the bastion of the Tone River (利根川, Tonegawa) at 322 km in length it is the second longest river in Japan after the Shinano with the largest drainage area of 16,840 km².
As it’s many dams supply water to for the more than 30 million inhabitants downstream it is little wonder that it is often regarded as one of the three greatest rivers in Japan (the other two are the Yoshino in Shikoku and the Chikugo in Kyūshū).
The river was important transport until the advent of railway in the 19th century. It carried not only local products like soy sauce from Choshi, but also products from the Tohoku region, in order to save time and to avoid risk in the open sea.
Minakami Onsen in Gunma Prefecture, is the source for the Tone River and during the Spring snow melt period, April - June, the river provides consistent grade 4 rapids over a 12km stretch. The river provides some of the best white water rafting and kayaking in Japan and played host to the rafting world cup qualifying tounament in Spring 2002. The River consists of three major canyon sections; Momiji Canyon section has 5 grade 3-4 rapids in 1km, Minakami Canyon is a continuous grade 3 rollercoaster, Suwa Canyon has 4 grade 3-4 rapids with such names as “the dragons back” and “megawash”.
