The has its source in the Suzuka Mountains

Suzuka Mountains

are a mountain range running through Mie Prefecture and along the borders of Gifu and Shiga prefectures in central Japan. The tallest peak in the range is Mount Oike at...

 in Shiga Prefecture

Shiga Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan, which forms part of the Kansai region on Honshu Island. The capital is the city of Ōtsu.- History :Shiga was known as Ōmi Province or Gōshū before the prefectural system was established...

, 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...

. During the Edo period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

, Takamiya-juku

Takamiya-juku

was the sixty-fourth of the sixty-nine stations of the Nakasendō. It is located in the present-day city of Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, Japan on the right bank of the Inukami River. It stretches from the center of the city out towards the east. It became a post town shortly after its original founding...

, a post station

Shukuba

were post stations during the Edo period in Japan, generally located on one of the Edo Five Routes or one of its sub-routes. They were also called shukueki . These post stations were places where travelers could rest on their journey around the nation...

 along the Nakasendō

Nakasendo

The , also called the , was one of the five routes of the Edo period, and one of the two that connected Edo to Kyoto in Japan. There were 69 stations between Edo and Kyoto, crossing through Musashi, Kōzuke, Shinano, Mino and Ōmi provinces...

, sat on the banks of the river in Hikone.

Geography

The Kitaya River (北谷川 Kitaya-gawa) and the Minamiya River (南谷川 Minamiya-gawa), literally the "North Valley" and "South Valley" rivers, originate in the Suzuka Mountains. The two rivers merge as they flow into Taga

Taga, Shiga

is a town located in Inukami District, Shiga, Japan. It has developed as a shrine town of Taga-taisha, one of the most famous shrines in Shiga.As of 2003, the town has an estimated population of 8,322 and a density of 61.22 persons per km². The total area is 135.93 km².-External links:* *...

. The river's central portion spreads out into an alluvial fan

Alluvial fan

An alluvial fan is a fan-shaped deposit formed where a fast flowing stream flattens, slows, and spreads typically at the exit of a canyon onto a flatter plain. A convergence of neighboring alluvial fans into a single apron of deposits against a slope is called a bajada, or compound alluvial...

 as it flows into a plain

Plain

In geography, a plain is land with relatively low relief, that is flat or gently rolling. Prairies and steppes are types of plains, and the archetype for a plain is often thought of as a grassland, but plains in their natural state may also be covered in shrublands, woodland and forest, or...

. When the river reaches Hikone

Hikone, Shiga

is a city located in Shiga, Japan. The city was incorporated on February 11, 1937.Hikone's most famous historical site is Hikone Castle. Its construction was begun in 1603, by Ii Naokatsu, son of the former lord, Ii Naomasa, but was not completed until 1622...

, it flows into Lake Biwa

Lake Biwa

is the largest freshwater lake in Japan, located in Shiga Prefecture , northeast of the former capital city of Kyoto. Because of its proximity to the ancient capital, references to Lake Biwa appear frequently in Japanese literature, particularly in poetry and in historical accounts of battles.-...

.

River communities

The river passes through or forms the boundary of the following communities:

Shiga Prefecture:

Taga

Taga, Shiga

is a town located in Inukami District, Shiga, Japan. It has developed as a shrine town of Taga-taisha, one of the most famous shrines in Shiga.As of 2003, the town has an estimated population of 8,322 and a density of 61.22 persons per km². The total area is 135.93 km².-External links:* *...

, Kōra

Kora, Shiga

is a town located in Inukami District, Shiga, Japan.As of 2003, the town has an estimated population of 8,024 and a density of 587.41 persons per km². The total area is 13.66 km²....

, Hikone

Hikone, Shiga

is a city located in Shiga, Japan. The city was incorporated on February 11, 1937.Hikone's most famous historical site is Hikone Castle. Its construction was begun in 1603, by Ii Naokatsu, son of the former lord, Ii Naomasa, but was not completed until 1622...