Lake Motosu and Mt. Fuji in the evening
Whether you plan to take a dip or simply enjoy the beautiful scenery, these five lakes in Japan deliver on all fronts (or shores).
A beautiful lake can be enjoyed all year round, of course. But having grown up on the Great Lakes, I know how fun going to the lake is in summer. The near unbearable (for someone from a colder climate, at least) heat and humidity of Japanese summers will only get worse, so spending time on the water is an excellent way to stay cool outside this season.
Luckily, Japan has no shortage of beautiful lakes. The Fuji Five Lakes offer spectacular views of Mount Fuji, and Hokkaido boasts some of the clearest lakes in the world. And as home to about 10% of the world’s volcanoes, many of Japan’s lakes are volcanic lakes—either caldera lakes, formed in a collapsed volcano, or created by volcanic dams.
However, most of the large natural lakes in Japan are distributed throughout north and central Japan, so those in southern regions like Tokyo will have to travel to access them.
Don’t know where to start? Here are five lakes in Japan great for staying stay cool this summer.
1. Lake Toya
View from Mount Usu, which is an active volcano, of volcanic caldera Lake Toya in Shikotsu-Toya National Park, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is big, 10 km in diameter with big Nakajima Island on left and Japan’s youngest mountains Showa Shinzen which is growing, rising from 1940s and today has 398 meters and is still smoking.
2. Lake Tazawa
The statue of the Tatsuko at Lake Tazawa in rainy day
3, Lake Chuzenji
Lake Chuzenji (Chuzenjiko, 中禅寺湖) near Nikko in Japan. Photographed on a beautiful still morning in autumn at sunrise.
4, Lake Motosu
Lake Motosu, a green lake with two yellow kayaks on the foreground under blue cloudy sky, Japan
5, Lake Biwa
It is a scenic Chikubu Island.
I – Word Understanding
Humidity – is the amount of water vapor in the air.
