Arrangement of mangrove forest is discussed with relation to its geomorphological conditions in the present report, as a part of a study on vegetation-landform relationships of an alluvial plain in the lower reaches of the titular river. This plain of about 6km in length and 0.1 to 2km in width can be divided into three parts; a flood plain, a delta and an estuarine section (Fig. 1). It is estimated in terms of the distribution of deposits that during the period of the Holocene transgression an estuary extended about 4km from the present rivermouth just over the deltaic and the estuarine stretches on which the mangroves discussed here are found. The deltaic and the estuarine sections have been differentiated in the course of deposition after the maximum of the transgression, and the difference is reflected on the characters of the mangrove forests of the areas.
The depositional surface of estuarine deposits during the transgression appears to have reached to the elevation of 2m above the present sea level. This surface remains on the fringing area of the delta as very flat mounds and scattered on the delta, too. Pandanus tectorius forest and bare grounds occupy such flat mounds (Figs. 2, 3 and 5).
The greater part of the delta is a flat basin which is filled with clay, silt and fine sand from the rivers (Fig. 2). A wide mixed forest of Bruguiera gymnorhiza and Rhizophora stylosa extends on the basin. Along the main stream, branches and tidal channels, the mixed forest is dominated mainly by the former species and its pure stands are often found. Stands dominated by the latter, on the contrary, occupy the areas away from the channels (Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6). On channel bars, some little stands of Kandelia candel and Rh. stylosa are found in pioneer state. However, a successional change from these stands to the mixed forest could not be recognized.
The lowermost part of the Nakama about 2km in range might be called an upper estuary transitional to a typical one. In this estuarine area rather small mangrove forests develop on thin deposits of medium to coarse sand which cover storm benches cut into limestone. In such mangrove stands a typical zonation is found; Avicennia marina and Sonneratia alba constitute a seaward fringe, Rh. stylosa makes a next zone and Br. gymnorhiza the landwardmost one.

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Notsukezaki, well known as the typical compound recurved spit in Japan, develops over 20km in length toward SE from Shibetsu located in the middle of the east coast of Hokkaido. The writer tried to clarify the formation and the development of Notsukezaki, for that purpose, the coastal and submarine topography, recent deposits of the coast, wind's speed and direction at Notskezaki are surveyed.
Waves from the northeast are undoubtedly the active force, judging from the submarine topography and the fetch. Fig. 4 shows that the waves from NE causing wave erosion at the northern coast of Notsukezaki may permit to derive marine deposition southward. In fact, Fig. 5 proves that the northern coast is retreating and furnishing an abundant débris, besides, the materials of the cliff formation are easily eroded. Therefore, the longshore drifting caused by the predominant NW winds could carry an excessive amount of sand and gravel southward and produced the spit. Notsukezaki has been formed since post-glacial without any existing nucleus along the main direction depending upon the longshore current from NW to SE and the wave agency from NE.
The beach ridges which built each of compound spit shows uniform height (Fig. 3). The fact expresses the level of beach ridges in terms of past sea level as shown in Fig. 6. The result can be correlated with Fairbridge (1961) favourably and the development of Notsukezaki associated with the fluctuation of sea level is schematically shown in Fig. 7.

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Numanodai district near Hijiori Spa is characterized by abundance of small lakelets formed by landslide. Lake Onuma and Lake Naganuma among them are presented in this paper.
1. The morphometrical data calculated from the bathymetric maps in text are summarized in the following table.
2. From the hydrological point of view, the lakes are fed by melt water to a great extent. The airbone salt in snow deposit which covers the basin determines the quality of lake water. Therefore, the main solute in lake water is sodium choloride. The lakes are poor in nutrients such as phosphate and nitrogen compounds.
3. In midsummer, the thermal and chemical stratifications develop distinctly in the lakes. The seasonal investigation of Lake Onuma indicates that water temperature keeps constant through the year in the hypolimnion below the depth of 13m. In other words, this lake belongs to meromictic lake.

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The land use of wholesales, which handle large quantities of goods and require large space for storage and distribution, is less intensive than those of retails, finances, etc. Rising land values, severe competition for space and traffic difficulty have induced many wholesale establishments to relocate outward from Zones I and II to Zones III and IV (Fig. 4).
The purpose of this article is to examine land use conversions on sites vacated by the relocation of wholesale establishments to the Wholesale Estate on the east of Sendai. Such relocations have two types: complete one, in which the previous site is completely vacated, and partial one, in which only selected functions remain.
(I) Intensification of land use by complete relocation
In Zone I, open spaces created by the complete relocation of wholesale establishmants have mostly been converted to more intensive land uses (i. e. retails, services, restaurants, rental office buildings, hotels, hospitals, etc.), and rarely to less intensive land uses (i. e. residences, printings, constructions, parkings and other wholesales). The occupying ratio of intensive land uses to the whole declines precipitously from Zone I to Zone IV (0.77, 0.39, 0.23, 0.15). The intensity of land use by zone varies even within a particular intensive land use category. For example, retail establishments located in Zone I sell “shopping goods”, but those in Zones II, III and IV sell “consumer's goods”.
(II) Functional differentiation by partial relocation
The partial relocation of the wholesale establishments has brought about spatial differentiation of functions. Some of the wholesale establishements remained subsidiary functions, such as processing, constructing, or retailing. Functions with extensive land use have been relocated to the Wholesale Estate, and those with intensive land use such as retail facilities have remained in place. Such changes resulted in the upgrading and specialization of land uses in the site, not only in Zones I and II but also in Zone III.
In conclusion, most of sites formerly occupied by wholesale establishments have been converted to more intensive land uses, in the central zone (Zones I and II). This intensification has been especially stronger in Zone I, where banks, rental office buildings, hotels, etc. have been newly constructed on the vacated sites. But, the relocation of wholesale establishments has not effected greater upon the refining of functional structure of inner urban areas.

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Changes in the hierarchical system of retail centers appear to be determined by consumers' behavior and by changes in the economy as a whole.
The Japanese way of life has changed considerably since 1960, as a result of increased consumer incomes and buying power, and changes have also occurred in retail activity, as a part of the general reorganization of Japan's economic structure during the era of rapid economic growth. As a result, it is possible that the hierarchical system of retail centers has also changed.
This paper has two aims. One is to analyse changes in the composition of retail centers. The retail shops of which each retail center consisted in 1976 were classified using the method developed by Y. Watanabe (1955), and then the author's results were compared with those obtained by Watanabe in 1955.
The other aim is to analyse changes in the hierarchical system of retail centers. The method developed by Y. Watanabe was also used for this purpose, and the author's results were compared with those obtained by Watanabe in his 1967 paper.
The results may be summarized as follows:
(1) Four distinct patterns of change were identified, with regards to the shops in each retail center.
(2) Almost all retail centers contain shops which together sell the full range of goods in common use.
(3) The difference between the two lowest strata in the hierarchy has generally narrowed, such that a new hierarchical system seems to be forming, but the existence of this new hierarchical system must be confirmed through more detailed studies.

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