Lake Towada
Lake Towada, A Deep Caldera Lake On The Aomori Akita Border Ringed By Wooded Hills, Cruised By Sightseeing Boats And Best In Autumn Colour. The Source Of The Oirase Stream, With An Old Shrine And A Famous Statue Of Two Women On The Shore. · Towada, Aomori
Lake Towada is a big, deep caldera lake on the border of Aomori and Akita in the far north of Honshu, set inside Towada-Hachimantai National Park. It fills a volcanic crater, is roughly 327 m deep (confirm), which makes it one of the deepest lakes in Japan, and its water is a calm, dark blue ringed by beech and fir hills. Most visitors arrive at Yasumiya on the south shore, walk to the bronze Statue of Maidens, Otome-no-zo, made by the sculptor and poet Takamura Kotaro (confirm), visit the old Towada Shrine in the cedars, and take a sightseeing boat across the lake. The Oirase stream, which has its own entry, leaves the lake at its eastern end. It suits people with a car or a bus pass, photographers and autumn-colour chasers. It is worth the long trip for the colour in mid to late October and for the quiet, and not worth it on a short rushed visit, because buses are infrequent and the view is much the same from every shore. Snow closes some roads in winter.
Yasumiya, Towada, Aomori, on the south shore of the lake, reached by bus from Aomori or Hachinohe or Shin-Aomori, Towada, Aomori, Japan
The lake itself is open at all hours, but boats, shops and the Yasumiya visitor facilities keep daytime hours, usually from morning to late afternoon, with fewer sailings in the low season - confirm the boat timetable. Sightseeing boats from Yasumiya generally run from spring to autumn and stop or shrink in winter, when ice and snow arrive. Some mountain roads around the lake close in late autumn until spring, so check road status before driving. Buses run from Aomori, Shin-Aomori and Hachinohe in the main season, with a journey of roughly two to three hours - confirm days and the last return, which can be mid-afternoon. IC cards are not accepted on every bus, so carry cash.