Ota River

The Ota River system originates on Mt. Kanmuri and picks up tributaries including the Shibaki River through Sandankyo Gorge before fanning out across Hiroshima's alluvial delta into the Seto Inland Sea. During the early Edo period, the Kake district in what is now Akiota was a center of iron production, and the river carried iron, charcoal, rice, and lumber to coastal markets. River transport declined as roads and railways took over, and the iron industry faded. Today the Ota supplies tap water for Hiroshima and the surrounding region, powers hydroelectric plants, and hosts sweetfish and red-spotted trout that bring anglers to its banks each spring and autumn.