insights from frontier Japan

Lake Kussharo, which is located in the Akan-Mashu National Park (in the town of Teshikaga in the Kushiro region) and is the largest caldera lake in Japan, will reach a major turning point on October 1. In principle, the personal use of powered boats such as motorboats and jet skis will be prohibited on the whole of the lake, which has a circumference of 57 km. Unless specifically authorized, navigating the lake in such a manner will be punishable under the Natural Parks Act.

Volcanic smoke rises vigorously from Atosanupuri (Mt. Iou) in the town of Teshikaga in eastern Hokkaido. On September 16, with the help of a local guide, we climbed the mountain – the focal point of Akan-Mashu National Park and what is said to be the source of the Kawayu Onsen hot springs – to photograph the volcanic crater using a drone. The beautiful lemon-yellow fumarole was visible from the drone.

Pretty, white spherical flowers sway in the breeze as the peak of the rhododendron season approaches in the Tsutsujigahara meadow that stretches from Atosanupri (Mt. Io) to Kawayu Onsen in the town of Teshikaga in eastern Hokkaido.

An accommodation facility that was closed in the Kawayu Onsen hot-spring resort (in the town of Teshikaga, eastern Hokkaido) reopened as ‘Kinkiyu Hotel Bettei SUIKAZURA’ on April 20. The luxury hotel features guestrooms with their own hot-spring baths. Meanwhile, a woman in her 20s opened ‘NOMY’, a low-cost guesthouse in the Kawayu area on the 16th, and the town hopes the newly opened facilities will help revitalize the hot-spring resort, which has suffered badly during the Coronavirus pandemic.

The pure white Hokkaido long-tailed tit is about 14 centimeters long. Because its fluffy round body has a snowman feel, it is also called "Snow Fairy".

Lake Mashu in the Akan-Mashu National Park (the town of Teshikaga in eastern Hokkaido) continues to freeze, as the ice spreads over approximately 80% of the lake’s surface.

Suigo Park in eastern Hokkaido's Teshikaga Town has a pond that is fed by a fresh spring flow, keeping the pond from icing over even in the coldest part of winter. Though it is located in the town's urban district, the area is quiet and even serves as a sleeping place for swans and ducks, where they can rest their wings at night. As the area began to brighten with the light of day, I witnessed swans spread their wings and become active.

A sea of clouds blanketed Japan's largest caldera lake, Lake Kussharo (Teshikaga Town, east Hokkaido), and shone with light from the morning sun. The image was captured on October 10 from Bihoro Town's Michi-no-Eki (Roadside Rest Area) "Gurutto Panorama Bihoro Pass", which overlooks the lake.

In this series, the transformation of four seasons will be introduced through articles on wild animals that are active in the deep forests, marshes, and ocean as if they were being cradled by “Kamui,” which means deity in the Ainu language. The second installment in the series is the crested kingfisher of Lake Kussharo. (Text and photographs by Tadanobu Shigeru from Kushiro Branch News Section.)