Lake Shikotsu （支笏湖） in September | Chitose

Lake Chikotsu is located in the southwest of Hokkaido, near Chitose Airport. It is a very blue lake, and we dub the color as "Chikotsu blue".

It is the 8th largest lake, the second largest caldera lake after Lake Kussharo, and the second deepest lake after Lake Tazawa in Japan.

Look at these roses! You can enjoy beautiful flowers on the way to the boat landing.

First, we enjoyed the scenery from the pleasure cruiser!

Here we go!

It is surrounded by three volcanoes: Mt. Eniwa (one of the Olympic sites in 1972), Mt. Fuppushi, and Mt. Tarumae.

The caldera was formed 30,000 to 40,000 years ago when the land between the volcanoes subsided.

Due to the small surface area to depth ratio, the water temperature remains quite constant throughout the year, making it the northernmost ice-free lake in Japan even in the mid-winter time!

It's very fun to see the scenery on the boat, but

when the boat approaches the lake shore, go downstairs to the ship bottom.

 There are 16 windows on the bottom like this and

you can enjoy the columnar joints here and there. The joints are formed by cooling hot magma for a short time!

If you are lucky, you can see kokanee salmon from the glass boat! 

It's about to finish the cruise!

Oops! We found NASA's GALAXY here in Hokkaido. Hahaha!

We enjoyed strolling along the lake for a while,

and then dropped by the visitor center!

You can enjoy the history, ecosystem and geography of the lake here.

If you want to take a rest, why don't you soak your feet in hot spring. There is a foot spa along the lake↓

If you are hungry, how about the sweets in "Patissier Lab."?

Wow! Wow! Wow! They are making pumpkin sweets! Looks delicious!

Let me see............ what should we choose????

I recommend "Taruyamesan shu or Mt. Tarumae cream puff", one of the most popular sweets in this shop!

And this is the latest product, drawing a lot of attentions especially from ladies! Do you have any idea what it is?

It looks like a pudding but it's not a normal one.
The answer is
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this is a miso (bean paste) pudding! It tastes like a caramel pudding! How amazing it is! Please try it when you come to Lake Chikotsu area!

＊If you are interested in "Chitose/Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival", featuring wonderful ice sculptures, please refer to my other blog→→click here!

■Where is Lake Chikotsu?

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■Tour guide information■

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