Picture Stories - Shikotsu-Toya National Park

This feature only focuses on recreational areas at Lake Toya and Mt. Yotei in the vicinity.

Overall, Shikotsu-Toya National Park located in central Hokkaido spans a very wide area of 993 sq. km. It is divided into 5 sub-areas namely: Mt. Yotei area, area around Lake Toya, Mt. Usu and Showashinzan, hotspring areas of Noboribetsu and Lake Kuttara, areas around Lake Shikotsu, Mt. Tarumae and Mt. Eniwa and areas around Jozankei, Toyohira Gorge and Takayama Gorge

Lake Toya is a caldera lake most well known for its scenic beauty and being host venue to the 2008 G8 Summit. The Ainus, indigenous people of Hokkaido called this lake - ‘Kim’un-to’ or ‘lake mountain’. During the Meiji era, pioneer Japanese called it Lake Toya following the Ainu expression ‘to ya’ meaning ‘lakeland’.

Panorama of Lake Toya and snow-covered Mt. Yotei, dubbed Hokkaido’s ‘Mt. Fuji’ in the background.

The picnic area by the lakeside is a spacious recreational park of trees and lawns with facilities

Islands in the lake and neighboring mountains. In particular, Mt. Yotei’s fascinating symmetrical cone profile shows up beautifully in white.

The recreational facilities on the beach.

The lake is almost circular in shape - 10 km diameter in east-west direction and 9 km diameter in north-south direction.

It is said that Lake Toya is the northernmost lake that ‘never ices’ and second most transparent lake in Japan.

The islands in the lake are lushly forested and support rich eco-systems. Toya Lake Forest Museum is located on Nakano-shima island.