Lake Biwa
Tanabe’s most famous achievement was the Lake Biwa Canal that runs from Lake Biwa to Kyoto city. For his work as Chief Engineer directing the project and paper entitled “The Lake Biwa - Kyoto Canal” published in 1894, Tanabe was awarded a Telford Medal by the British Institution of Civil Engineers. The canal passes through a series of tunnels and was the site of Japan's first Hydro-electric power station.