The Toyohira River is a river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 in Hokkaidō prefecture

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...

. It is 72.5km in length and has drainage area of 959km². It is a tributary of 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....

.

It supplies water to Sapporo city, the capital of Hokkaidō built on the 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...

 formed by the river.

Jōzankei is a popular attraction with onsen

Onsen

An is a term for hot springs in the Japanese language, though the term is often used to describe the bathing facilities and inns around the hot springs. As a volcanically active country, Japan has thousands of onsen scattered along its length and breadth...

 (hot springs) along the upper Toyohira.

Course

From the mountain Oizaridake, the Toyohira River flows northwards into . The created the lake. The river runs through the gorge. After exiting the gorge it is joined by several more rivers before turning East. Two smaller dams block the course of the Toyohira as it moves into the suburbs of Sapporo. The river flows north and east through the middle of the Toyohira Ward of Sapporo. As it leaves the urban area it forms the border between Sapporo and 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 emptying into the Ishikari River.

History

The Ainu

Ainu people

The , also called Aynu, Aino , and in historical texts Ezo , are indigenous people or groups in Japan and Russia. Historically they spoke the Ainu language and related varieties and lived in Hokkaidō, the Kuril Islands, and much of Sakhalin...

 knew this river as Sapporo Pet (Sapporo River). Toyopira was originally the name of a crossing point on of the Sapporo River. Until the 19th century, the lower course of the Sapporo River had been the same as the Fushiko River of today, emptying into the Ishikari River directly to the north. After a flood, the river made a new course to the east. The Ainu called the remains of this old lower course of the Sapporo River Fushiko Sapporo or Old Sapporo.

When the Japanese colonized the area, they used Ainu place names. They named the new capital city after the river Sapporo and named the Sapporo River (Sapporo Pet) after the crossing point Toyohira. The old lower course of the Fushiko Sapporo was named . The Toyohira Bridge was built at the crossing point named Toyopira by the Ainu.