What Is the Kuroshio?
The Kuroshio, or “Black Current” (also called the Japan Current) named for its deep, dark blue waters, flows north from the East China Sea along the Pacific coast of Japan. It is considered the largest ocean current in the world by volume of water moved, and is between 70 and 100 kilometers wide. The warm Kuroshio is responsible both for the mild climate along the southern coast of Shikoku and the diversity of marine life in the waters off this coast.