is a river in Hokkaidō

Hokkaido

, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. The river is a class A river. In the city of Ebetsu, the river is sometimes known as .

In the Ainu language

Ainu language

Ainu is one of the Ainu languages, spoken by members of the Ainu ethnic group on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaidō....

 Chitose was originally called shikotsu, meaning big depression or hollow, like Lake Shikotsu

Lake Shikotsu

is a caldera lake in Chitose, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is a part of the Shikotsu-Toya National Park.- Geography :Lake Shikotsu is located in the south-west part of Hokkaidō. It has an average depth of and a maximum depth of , making it the second deepest lake in Japan, after Lake Tazawa...

 a caldera lake. To the Japanese, this sounded too much like , so it was changed to Chitose. The name of the river was changed in 1805.

Course

The Chitose River is the outflow of Lake Shikotsu. From the lake the river flows through a series of power plants owned by the Oji Paper Company

Oji Paper Company

is a Japanese manufacturer of paper products. It is the 6th-largest paper manufacturing company in the world in terms of revenue.- Operations :Oji Paper produces paper for printing, writing, and packaging...

. The Chitose River flows through the center of the city of Chitose

Chitose, Hokkaido

-Economy:China Airlines operates its Sapporo office on the third floor of the airport building.The airline Hokkaido Air System was at one time headquartered at the New Chitose Airport in Chitose...

, before entering the Ishikari Plain. On the plain, the river feeds and is fed by numerous irrigation canals. Here the Chitose River forms part of the border between Ishikari

Ishikari Subprefecture

is a subprefecture of Hokkaidō prefecture, Japan, located in the western part of the island. Its population in 2003 was 2,279,943.There are 6 cities, three towns, and one village under its jurisdiction. The subprefectural capital is Sapporo, also the capital of Hokkaidō prefecture...

 and Sorachi Subprefecture

Sorachi Subprefecture

is a subprefecture of Hokkaidō, Japan. As of 2004, its estimated population is 373,736 and its area is 6,558.26 km².-Cities:* Akabira* Ashibetsu* Bibai* Fukagawa* Iwamizawa * Mikasa* Sunagawa* Takikawa* Utashinai* Yūbari...

s. Finally, the river passes through the city of Ebetsu

Ebetsu, Hokkaido

is a city located in Ishikari, Hokkaidō, Japan.- History :Ebetsu was settled originally by Japanese people in 1871, that came from the Miyagi Prefecture on Honshu Island. In 1878, militia men began moving into the area. When the Meiji Government, in 1878, designated Hokkaido as part of Japan,...

 before it flows into the Ishikari River

Ishikari River

is a river in Hokkaidō, Japan. At in length, the river is the third longest in Japan and the longest in Hokkaidō. The river has a drainage area of , making it the second largest in Japan, as is its total discharge of around per year....

.

Flooding

The Chitose River causes flooding damage about every two years, widening to as many as 40 kilometres (24.9 mi). The last major flood was in 1981, where the river flooded 2700 homes and 20000 hectare of land. National, prefectural, and local governments have been adopting numerous measures to try and reduce the severity of the flooding.