Miwakare Park, Natural water divide park in Hikami, Japan
Miwakare Park is a park in Isō, Hikami-chō, Tamba, Hyōgo Prefecture, laid out along the upper Takatani River, a tributary of the Kako River system. It sits beside the lowest central watershed on Honshu, where the divide runs at 95.45 m near the Isō intersection. In the park are the Tamba City Hikami Corridor Miwakare Field Museum, formerly the Miwakare Reference Hall, an artificial waterfall, an open plaza, and the Isōbe Shrine, a shrine listed in the Engishiki register of shrines.
The park lies in the Isō district of Hikami, Tamba, beside the valley of the Takatani River, a tributary of the Kako River system. The Isō area holds the lowest central watershed on Honshu, at 95.45 m near the Isō crossing, with the divide running about 1,250 m. The site includes the Tamba City Hikami Corridor Miwakare Field Museum, formerly the Miwakare Reference Museum, and the Isōbe Shrine, a listed shrine from the Engishiki register.
The museum here helps visitors understand how this watershed location functions through hands-on models and interactive displays. People visit to learn about the role water plays in shaping the local landscape.
The park lies about 500 m east of the Miwakare crossroads where National Routes 175 and 176 meet, and about 10 minutes on foot east of JR Isō Station on the Fukuchiyama Line. Near the park entrance a signpost points roughly 70 m to the Sea of Japan side, where the irrigation channel begins its route north. The Miwakare Bridge on Route 176 stands at 101.04 m, slightly above the 95.45 m watershed.
The watershed here is the lowest on Honshu, at 95.45 m near the Isō intersection, with the divide running about 1,250 m. A sign by the park entrance points to the Sea of Japan, roughly 70 km away; water diverted there passes through the Kuroi, Takeda, Haji and Yura rivers, while the Takatani main stream reaches the Seto Inland Sea, also about 70 km off.
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