River
The Rivers of Oita: 3 Live Cameras in Japan
Three live streams in Oita: the Oita and the Ono, which reach Beppu Bay, and the Bansho, which drops to the ria coast at Saiki.
What you can see
The Oita and the Ono both end in Beppu Bay, but their water comes from different places — the Oita from the basin around Yufuin, the Ono from the eastern side of the Aso outer rim. Different headwater terrain means they do not rise in step even on the same rain. Open the two together and the offset shows.
The Bansho runs down to Saiki. Beyond its mouth is a ria coast, mountains dropping straight into the sea. Short basin, deep valley, so the level moves quickly once rain starts.
Oita is hot-spring country, which is another way of saying volcanic heat sits close to the surface. Upstream of these rivers is the ground covered by the Kuju and Tsurumi cameras. Open them on the same day and you can sometimes see the order of events: cloud on the mountains, then hours later the river moving.
All three are rotating streams cycling through several points along the river, so you may wait a little for the spot you want.
Cameras you can watch now: 3
3 video, 0 still. Tap one to open it in the camera list.
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Live video, rotating
Oita River
Oita · River
From the foot of Mount Yufu down to Beppu Bay. Through the city the levees are close in, putting streets and water in the same frame.
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Live video, rotating
Ono River
Oita · River
The largest river in Oita Prefecture, draining the Sobo range. Wide gravel bars remain in its middle reaches, so rises are easy to read.
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Live video, rotating
Bansho River
Saiki, Oita · River
A clear river emptying into Saiki Bay. On clear days you can make out changes in the colour of the riverbed from the camera.
When to watch
Late rainy season and typhoons. Oita is on the eastern side of Kyushu, and it rains here whether a typhoon crosses Kyushu itself or passes up the Shikoku side. A short river like the Bansho moves within hours of the rain starting.
The worse the weather, the darker the image and the more the lens smears. Take evacuation decisions from your local authority.
On a calm day you can see the difference in water colour between upper and lower reaches. The Ono, coming off the Aso side, can stay cloudy for a long time after rain.
In winter snow does fall on the inland headwaters even in Kyushu; flow drops for a while and then comes up all at once on the first warm day.
Where The Rivers of Oita is
Agencies publishing the cameras on this page
- MLIT river live streams (Government Standard Terms 2.0) — Official site
The footage belongs to each agency. This site is an unofficial guide, and each sample frame was copied once per camera under that agency's terms of use.