Akan National Park

Description of Akan National Park

Akan National Park (阿寒国 立 公園) is a national park located on the island of Hokkaidō, Japan. Together with the Daisetsuzan National Park, they are the two oldest national parks in Hokkaido, the park was established on December 4, 1934. Akan is an area of volcanic craters and forests, covering 90 481 hectares (904.81 km2) .The park is famous for its crystal clear lakes, its thermal springs, and its large marimos. It is the only place in Japan where the marimo of an appreciable size is formed.

The park can be divided into two general areas, Kawayu and Akan.

Kawayu
Mount Iō and Onsen Kawayu offer natural hot springs and sulfur fumaroles. Around Lake Kussharo, a crater lake, are the Bihoro Pass, Mount Mokoto and Mount Nishibetsu. In the lake, the Wakoto Peninsula is an area with uniquely adapted soil and high temperatures, and Mashū Lake is a crater lake, one of the clearest lakes in the world, with visibility up to 40 meters.

Akan
The Akan caldera is a large volcanic caldera more than 20 km in diameter. Emerging from the interior of the caldera is the Akan Volcanic Complex, which includes the highest mountain in the park, Mount Meakan.The lake also has boiling mud, called bokke. Churui Island is one of four islands on the lake and the site of the Marimo Exhibition and the Observation Center. Lake Onneto is at the foot of Mount Meakan. Nearby there is a waterfall of hot water, Onneto Yu-no-taki. From Sokodai, one can observe Lake Penketo and Lake Panketo. The observatory of Mount Hakuto, Mount Kikin, Tsurumi Pass, and the observatory on the shore of Lake Akan offer panoramas of the surrounding countryside. On the Akan River, people see the mouth of the Takiguchi River as if it flows into Akan Lake from the Takimi Bridge. The area also offers Lake Jiro and Lake Taro.