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Lake Tazawa
Lake Tazawa is the deepest lake in Japan, 423 metres from surface to floor, a round lake of deep blue water in the mountains of Semboku, in Akita Prefecture, in the Tohoku region of northern Honshu.
- Prefecture
- Akita
- Region
- Tohoku
- Journeys
- One of our journeys
overview
A round lake of deep blue water, and the legend of the girl who became its dragon.
Lake Tazawa fills a near-circular basin about twenty kilometres around, ringed by forested hills, and its depth gives the water a colour that stays in the memory: a deep cobalt blue at the centre, turning to jade over the shallows near the shore. It is so deep that it does not freeze, even when the hills around it lie under snow.
Legend gives the lake its guardian. Tatsuko, a girl of the village, prayed to keep her beauty for ever, drank from a spring the goddess showed her, and was turned into a dragon who lives in the lake; a golden statue of her stands on the western shore. The lake's recorded history is as striking. Its water was once so clear that it was home to a fish found nowhere else, the kunimasu, which vanished after acidic river water was channelled into the lake in 1940, and was found again seventy years later in Lake Saiko, near Mount Fuji, where eggs had been sent in the 1930s.
The lake is a place to drive around slowly, to stop at the shrine and the statue, and to look at the water. It lies at the centre of some of the loveliest country in Tohoku, with the springs of Nyuto Onsen above it, the samurai town of Kakunodate below, and the onsen of the Tazawako plateau on the slopes of Akita Komagatake.
see and do
What to see at Lake Tazawa
The statue of Tatsuko
A golden bronze figure of the legendary girl by the sculptor Funakoshi Yasutake, set up on the western shore in 1968, standing slender against the blue water.
Gozanoishi Shrine
A small shrine on the eastern shore whose red torii stands at the water's edge with the lake behind it. Its name recalls a stone where a lord of Akita is said to have sat to admire the view.
Ukigi Shrine
A shrine at Katajiri on the western shore, near the statue of Tatsuko and bound up with her legend, where couples come to pray.
The lakeside road
A road of about twenty kilometres circles the lake, close to the water for most of its length, with views across the blue to Akita Komagatake.
Tazawako Station
The Shinkansen station of the lake, designed by Shigeru Ban and opened in 1997, its timber and glass hall a quiet welcome to the district.
The Tazawako plateau
The slopes above the lake on the road to Nyuto Onsen, where the milky springs of Mizusawa Onsen and a scattering of onsen inns look down over the water.
Akita Komagatake
The highest mountain in Akita, 1,637 metres, its upper slopes reached by road from the plateau, with alpine meadows and wide views over the lake.
Tamagawa Onsen
About an hour to the north on the Hachimantai plateau, the most acidic spring in Japan, pouring from a single source at some nine thousand litres a minute.
experiences
The best of Lake Tazawa
A circle of the lake
A slow drive around the lake by private car, stopping at the shrine, the statue and the beaches of the eastern shore, with a guide to tell the legend at the water's edge.
On the water
A boat across the lake from the eastern shore, the colour of the water changing beneath the hull as the depth falls away.
The springs above
An afternoon in the milky onsen of the plateau, or an evening at Nyuto Onsen, half an hour up the mountain in the beech forest.
plan your visit
Lake Tazawa on a journey through Japan
- How long to stay
- Half a day is enough for the lake itself, and most guests see it on the way to Nyuto Onsen or from Kakunodate, staying in the mountains or the town.
- Getting there
- By the Akita Shinkansen from Tokyo to Tazawako in a little under three hours; the lakeshore is about fifteen minutes from the station by car. Kakunodate is about thirty minutes away and Nyuto Onsen about forty.
- Pairs well with
- Lake Tazawa lies between Kakunodate and Nyuto Onsen, so it falls into a few days in Semboku, with Oirase and Lake Towada to the north over the Hachimantai plateau.Nyuto OnsenKakunodateOirase and TowadaAkitaHiraizumi
journeys
Tours of Japan that include Lake Tazawa
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 Tazawa: questions answered
How deep is Lake Tazawa?
423.4 metres, which makes it the deepest lake in Japan; Lake Shikotsu in Hokkaido is second, at about 360 metres.
What is the legend of Lake Tazawa?
The legend of Tatsuko, a girl who wished for eternal beauty, drank from a sacred spring and became the dragon of the lake. Her golden statue stands on the western shore.
How do you get to Lake Tazawa from Tokyo?
By the Akita Shinkansen to Tazawako station, a little under three hours, then about fifteen minutes by car to the shore.
Does Lake Tazawa freeze?
No. It is so deep that it does not freeze, even when snow lies thick on the hills around it.
Why is Lake Tazawa so blue?
Because of its depth and the clarity of its water: the deep centre gives back only the blue of the light, and the shallows near the shore show green.
Which Luxury Japan Travel journeys include Lake Tazawa?
The Autumn Leaves Tour of Northern Japan visits Lake Tazawa for the day. On dates of your own, a Custom Tour of Japan can include Lake Tazawa too.
Can Lake Tazawa 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 Tazawa included. If you would rather travel independently, the Expert Japan Itinerary plans every day for you.
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Lake Tazawa, planned for you.
Tell us when you would like to travel and what draws you to Lake Tazawa, 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.