The Kikuchi River (菊池川, ''Kikuchi-gawa'') flows through the northern part of

Kumamoto Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geographic area of . Kumamoto Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Ōita Prefecture to ...

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The source of the river is Fukaba, Aso city near Mt. Aso at the height of 1041 metres and flows west through the

Kikuchi Valley Kikuchi Valley is the located in Aso and Kikuchi, Kumamoto cities in Kumamoto Prefecture, on the island of Kyushu, Japan. It is the source of the Kikuchi River. The valley is an area known for its resorts and autumn leaves. The area around the o ...

. It turns south near Kikusui and empties into the

Shimabara Bay Shimabara can refer to any of the following: * Shimabara, Nagasaki, a city in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan * Shimabara Peninsula, the geographic feature that hosts Shimabara, Nagasaki * Shimabara Castle, in Shimabara, Nagasaki * Shimabara Rebellion ...

in the

Ariake sea The is a body of salt water surrounded by Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, and Kumamoto Prefectures, all of which lie on the island of Kyūshū in Japan. It is the largest bay in Kyūshū. Its deepest point is only about 50 meters (165 ft) deep, and ...

. Land reclamation is taking place at its mouth. The river has a total length of 71 km. It begins at an elevation of 1041 meters and has a catchment area of 995 km². The width of the river ranges from 24 metres to 72 metres and the current velocity and discharge varies greatly through the year, from 10 to 350 cubic metres per second.

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(mouth) Rivers of Kumamoto Prefecture Rivers of Japan {{Japan-river-stub