Date of interview: Wednesday, February 18, 2015
The Shin Naruha River Dam is a gravity arch dam owned by the Chugoku Electric Power Company, and is responsible not only for supplying electricity to the rapidly developing postwar industrial area, but also for supplying industrial water. I was invited by a fellow dam enthusiast to visit the Shin Naruha River Dam, which can be visited on weekdays with prior application.
Shin Naruha River Power Plant PR Hall
First, we were briefed inside the PR hall of the new Naruha River Power Plant.
Downstream of the Shin Naruha River Dam is the Tahara Dam, and pumped-storage power generation is conducted with this reservoir. Also, downstream of the Tahara Dam is the Kurotori Dam, a reverse regulating reservoir dam.
A picture of the time when the crest release took place was posted. It is very powerful. I would like to see it in person, but it will probably be raining really hard at that time, so I guess I can't get close to it.
This model gives a good idea of what the inside of the power plant looks like.
There is also an enlarged cross-sectional model of the generator and waterwheel section.
Now it's time to go to the downstream face of the dike
Leaving the PR Hall and heading downstream to the downstream face of the levee, we take a closer look at the Francis Water Mill runners on display.
Let's dive further under the runner.
The center of the runner is seen from directly below. This is an angle that is not often seen.
We are finally approaching the downstream face of the embankment of the new Naruha River dam. The sky was wintery in the morning, but it cleared up beautifully.
Normally, there is no way to enter.conduitThe We are stepping into forbidden territory. And that too officially. Good thing I came...
You can see a hydraulic iron pipe and a substation on the left bank. I'm glad I came...
I'm afraid that all the angles are similar, but I wanted to stay here for a long time, forgetting about time. I'm glad I came...
We are looking downstream from the very tip of the chute section. It is an impossible angle for many reasons. Good thing we came...
I asked a fellow dam enthusiast who accompanied me to take a picture. It was a great memorial. I'm glad I came...
I think it was an earth discharge, but it was eight years ago and I have forgotten all about it. Incidentally, the photo taken of me as a subject at that time won the Japan Dam Association's photo contest13th D-shot contest Grand PrizeI was selected as a "photographer". I was not the one who took the picture, but the one who was photographed. But I am happy as if it were me.
This photo shows how huge the dam is. The people are that small.
This is an absolutely impossible angle! Because! Water could flow through here. ！！！！ (very excited)
I can't find the vocabulary to describe how to describe it beyond completely cool. It is not a vocabulary problem. I don't have the vocabulary to describe it.
The dike body is so cool that the gantry crane looks like a mob character.
Inside the Power Plant
The group is led into the interior of the power plant, still excited.
Entrance to the power plant.
This is the interior of the power plant. Inspections were being conducted in some areas.
A number of valuable photos
Many rare photos of the building were on display, showing how it has looked since its construction.
cross-section view
Cross section of an electric motor. It is amazing that it is hand-drawn.
This is a cross-sectional view of the pump turbine (left). The reason why the table and the illustration of the turbines show "ordinary turbine" and "pump turbine" is because Unit 1 is a turbine for ordinary hydroelectric power generation only, and Units 2 to 4 are reversible turbines for pumped-storage power generation that require pumping.
I forgot which one is which.
Happy Angel in the office!
Then to the audit corridor.
He continued to take us to the audit corridor.
Enter through the entrance at the lower right bank.
The audit corridor was relatively dry and clean.
A cornerstone was embedded in the back.
Out again.
This is the lid of the material loading entrance of the power plant. It is moved by rollers, but this may have been the first time I saw it open.
This is where water used for power generation at the power plant is discharged. On this day, water was not discharged because it was under inspection.
A circuit breaker that acts as a switch in power generation.
We are back in the PR Hall.
The tour is now over. Thank you, Chugoku Electric Power Co.
Tour around the top edge after the tour
After the tour, everyone decided to visit the area around the top end. It was large when viewed from downstream, but the Shin Naruha River Dam is also large when viewed from the side.
The top end is open to automobile traffic. Because it is a gravity arch, it is curved and a bit narrow, so it is necessary to pass through with caution.
The view is a little poor, but it is the upstream face of the levee.
There is a cenotaph and a Jizo statue on the left bank, which I did not photograph. The Jizo was not shown in Google Street View in 2014, so it seems to have been recently built (relocated?). It seems to be recently built (relocated?).
Full-featuredTop (Crest)The frontmost gate is the intake gate for generator No. 4 and is a steel caterpillar gate. In the foreground is the intake gate for Generator No. 4, which is a steel caterpillar gate; the gates for Units 1-4 are in the back of the photo, and the spare gate can be moved by a gantry crane.
A warning sign that would surprise you if you saw it at night.
View of the reservoir from the top edge. The rails in the foreground are for gantry cranes.
Gap at the top edge that makes you cringe. Try not to accidentally drop something.
Maybe it is the elevator building. You can see stairs, etc. on the right hand side, so it may be a patrol route.
We have reached the right bank. The narrow road seems to continue ahead. The door on the right may be the rim tunnel.
This photo is taken facing the opposite direction of the top edge from the photo above.
Finally, from the right bank. It is hard to leave from here, but I am grateful to the Shin Naruha River Dam for creating many memories for me. I will have to revisit it again someday.
New Naruha River Dam Specifications
| Location | Nishiyuno, Bicchu-cho, Takahashi, Okayama |
| River Name | Takahashi River System Nariwa River |
| Objective | I (industrial water) P(Power generation) |
| Model | GA(gravity arch dam) |
| Bank height | 103m |
| Bank length | 289m |
| Dam volume | 430,000 m3 |
| Watershed Area | 625.2 km2 (Direct: 615.7 km2, Indirect: 9.5 km2) |
| Reservoir area | 360ha |
| Total storage capacity | 127,500,000 m3 |
| Effective water storage capacity | 80,500,000 m3 |
| Dam operator | The Chugoku Electric Power Co. |
| Main body constructor | Maeda Corporation |
| Year of launch | 1963. |
| Year Completed | 1968. |
| Name of Dam Lake | Lake Bicchu |
Other facilities/observations
There is a large space on the left bank road rather than a parking lot, so this is where you would park for a general visit. Restrooms are located in the PR hall, but are not usually available, so we have assumed x.
| Parking lot | ○ |
| Toilet | × |
| Park | × |
| PR Exhibition Hall | ○ (application required; closed as of September 2023) |
| Fishing | ○ |
| Viewing platform | × |
Map of the area around the Shin Naruha River Dam
Weather around Shin Naruha River Dam
Accommodations that may be close to the Shin Naruha River Dam
Comment