<P> The Kuroshio (黒潮,, "くろしお", (kɯɾoɕio) "Black Tide", "Japan Current") is a north - flowing ocean current on the west side of the North Pacific Ocean . It is similar to the Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic and is part of the North Pacific ocean gyre . Like the Gulf stream, it is a strong western boundary current . </P> <P> It begins off the east coast of Luzon, Philippines, Taiwan and flows northeastward past Japan, where it merges with the easterly drift of the North Pacific Current . It is analogous to the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic Ocean, transporting warm, tropical water northward toward the polar region . It is sometimes known as the Black Stream--the English translation of kuroshio and an allusion to the deep blue of its water--and also as the "Japan Current" (日本 海流, Nihon Kairyū). </P> <P> The path of Kuroshio south of Japan is reported every day . Its counterparts are the North Pacific Current to the north, the California Current to the east, and the North Equatorial Current to the south . The warm waters of the Kuroshio Current sustain the coral reefs of Japan, the northernmost coral reefs in the world . The branch into the Sea of Japan is called Tsushima Current (対馬 海流, Tsushima Kairyū). </P>

Kuroshi is a warm ocean current which runs from