Lake Akan
Lake Akan is a forest lake in eastern Hokkaido, in the centre of Akan-Mashu National Park, about an hour and a quarter from Kushiro Airport, known for its marimo and for the largest Ainu village on the island.
- Region
- Hokkaido
- Journeys
- One of our journeys
overview
A lake of green spheres and Ainu song, beneath two volcanoes.
Lake Akan lies in an old caldera between two volcanoes, Mount Oakan, the male mountain, and Mount Meakan, the female, and its water is rimmed with forests of spruce and fir. Akan-Mashu National Park, one of the first national parks of Japan, was declared in 1934, and with Lake Mashu and Lake Kussharo nearby it is home to three of the most beautiful lakes in Hokkaido.
The lake is the home of the marimo, balls of green algae that roll on the lakebed and grow over many years, in Lake Akan to the size of a football. They are a Special Natural Monument of Japan and the subject of an Ainu festival each autumn. On the southern shore stands Akan Kotan, the largest Ainu settlement in Hokkaido, a street of carvers' shops and a theatre where the dance and music of the Ainu are performed.
The onsen village of Akan Kohan runs along the southern shore, and it is a natural base for eastern Hokkaido: Lake Mashu and Lake Kussharo are within an hour, and the red-crowned cranes of the Kushiro marshes within an hour and a half. The Wild North Tour of Hokkaido spends two nights here, on the shore.
see and do
What to see at Lake Akan
Churui Island and the marimo
A small island reached by sightseeing boat, where the Marimo Exhibition Centre keeps the green spheres of the lake in tanks of its water, with the story of how they grow.
Akan Kotan
The Ainu village on the southern shore, a street of more than thirty households and workshops where carvers work in wood and embroiderers in cloth, with a chise, a traditional reed house, at the top of the street.
The Ikor theatre
The Ainu theatre of Akan Kotan, where traditional dances inscribed as Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO are performed, together with a contemporary production in projected light.
Bokke
Small mud volcanoes on the shore a short forest walk from the village, where grey mud bubbles and steams at the water's edge.
Mount Oakan and Mount Meakan
The two volcanoes of the lake: Oakan, a wooded cone of 1,370 metres rising from the eastern shore, and Meakan, at 1,499 metres the highest peak of the park, to the south-west.
Lake Onneto
A small lake in the forest beneath Mount Meakan, about half an hour from Akan, whose water changes colour with the light and the angle of the sun.
experiences
The best of Lake Akan
An evening of Ainu dance
A performance at the Ikor theatre, its dances and songs passed down in the Ainu families of the village, followed by a walk along the lit street of carvers.
A woodcarver's workshop
An hour with an Ainu carver in Akan Kotan, the knives, the patterns and what they mean in Ainu belief, and a small piece of your own.
The lake by boat
A boat across the lake to Churui Island and the marimo, with Mount Oakan rising from the shore.
An onsen beside the lake
An evening in the open-air onsen of a ryokan on the shore, and dinner of the venison, salmon and vegetables of eastern Hokkaido.
plan your visit
Lake Akan on a journey through Japan
- How long to stay
- One or two nights; two allows a day for Lake Mashu and Lake Kussharo or the cranes of Kushiro, and two evenings by the lake.
- Getting there
- By private car from Kushiro Airport in about an hour and a quarter, or from Memanbetsu Airport in about an hour and a half. Both airports are about an hour and a half by air from Tokyo Haneda. Lake Mashu is about an hour away by road, and Utoro, on the Shiretoko Peninsula, about three hours.
- Pairs well with
- Lake Akan is the centre of eastern Hokkaido: Lake Mashu and the cranes of Kushiro are within easy reach, Shiretoko lies to the north-east, and Sounkyo and Daisetsuzan to the west.Lake MashuKushiroShiretokoSounkyoDaisetsuzan
where to stay
Luxury hotels and ryokan at Lake Akan
The ryokan of Lake Akan stand in the onsen village of Akan Kohan on the southern shore, beside Akan Kotan and the boat pier. The Wild North Tour of Hokkaido stays at a small ryokan on the shore whose rooms have open-air onsen of their own turned to the lake, with dining that draws on the forests and coast of eastern Hokkaido.
journeys
Tours of Japan that include Lake Akan
Open a journey below for its route, its dates and its price. On dates of your own, a Custom Tour of Japan can bring you here and anywhere else in Japan you would like to go.
questions
Lake Akan: questions answered
What are marimo?
Balls of green algae that grow on the bed of Lake Akan, rolled into spheres by the movement of the water over many years. They are a Special Natural Monument of Japan.
How do you get to Lake Akan?
By private car from Kushiro Airport in about an hour and a quarter, or from Memanbetsu Airport in about an hour and a half. Both are about an hour and a half by air from Tokyo.
Can you learn about Ainu culture at Lake Akan?
Yes. Akan Kotan, on the southern shore, is the largest Ainu settlement in Hokkaido, with carvers' workshops and the Ikor theatre, where traditional dance is performed.
How long should you stay at Lake Akan?
One or two nights. Two allows a day out to Lake Mashu and Lake Kussharo, or to the red-crowned cranes of Kushiro.
Is there an onsen at Lake Akan?
Yes. The onsen village of Akan Kohan runs along the southern shore, and its ryokan have onsen fed by springs beside the lake.
Which Luxury Japan Travel journeys include Lake Akan?
The Wild North Tour of Hokkaido spends nights at Lake Akan. On dates of your own, a Custom Tour of Japan can include Lake Akan too.
Can Lake Akan be part of a private tour of Japan?
Yes. The Custom Tour of Japan is created around your party alone, on your dates, with your own Tour Director, and it can go anywhere in the country, Lake Akan included. If you would rather travel independently, the Expert Japan Itinerary plans every day for you.
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Lake Akan, planned for you.
Tell us when you would like to travel and what draws you to Lake Akan, and we will answer with the journey that suits you best: one of our published tours, a journey of The Private Collection, or a Custom Tour of Japan created around your party alone.