To the Japanese, this sounded too much like dead bones (死骨, shikotsu), so it was changed to Chitose.

From the lake the river flows through a series of power plants owned by the Oji Paper Company.

Here the Chitose River forms part of the border between Ishikari and Sorachi Subprefectures.

The Chitose River causes flooding damage about every two years, widening to as many as 40 kilometres (25 mi).

National, prefectural, and local governments have been adopting numerous measures to try to reduce the severity of the flooding.