Shimanto River

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The Shimanto River (四万十川 Shimantogawa) is a river in western Kochi Prefecture, Japan. It is 196km long and has 2270km2 watershed.

Since the river is remote from major cities and has no big dams, it is sometimes referred as 'the last clear stream of Japan' (日本最後の清流 Nihon saigo no seiryū). Fishing and production of nori is a thriving industry along the river.

The river also has 47 chinkabashi (沈下橋 lit. 'sinking bridge') including those of tributaries. Chinkabashi are bridges without parapets in order not to be washed away by floods. The prefecuture decided to preserve them as cultural heritages.