Kuroshio/Oyashio Currents Zone (KR/OY)

Pronounced (kooroshe´o)
Also called Japan Current or Black Current.

The Kuroshio Current (in red arrow) runs off the coast of Japan. It is a strong and very large warm surface oceanic current  traveling 40 to 121 km/day at 1.6 to 4.8 km/h. At about lat. 35°N it divides to form an eastern branch flowing nearly to the Hawaiian Islands and a northern branch that skirts the coast of Asia and merges with the waters of the cold Oyashio Current to form the North Pacific Current. Dense fogs develop along the boundary between the Japan and Oyashio currents. Air moving over the warm Japan Current becomes more temperate and acts to moderate the climate of Taiwan and Japan.

The Oyashio Current (in green arrow) is a cold subarctic current that flows south and circulates counterclockwise along the western North Pacific Ocean.  The two currents collide near eastern shores of Japan forming the North Pacific Current.