The Saru River rises in the Hidaka Mountains and empties into the Pacific.

It is considered sacred in traditional Ainu beliefs.

The construction of this dam was the subject of famous domestic litigation, producing the first ever Japanese legal decision to recognise the Ainu people as an indigenous people.

[5] The 'Cultural Landscape along the Saru River resulting from Ainu Tradition and Modern Settlement' has been designated an Important Cultural Landscape.

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