Quick Facts
- Japanese:
- Yodo-gawa
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Yodo River
Aerial view of Yodo River, Osaka, Japan.
Yodo River
river, Japan
Also known as: Yodo-Gawa
Yodo River, river, central western Honshu, Japan. The Yodo is the sole outlet of Lake Biwa, the country’s largest freshwater lake, from which it issues in a southwesterly direction to Osaka Bay, connecting the Kyōto Basin with the Ōsaka Plain. It was a major means of transportation and communication during the Tokugawa period (1603–1867). The river is dammed for hydroelectricity and irrigation.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.
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