Sep 8, 2013 - 1 min read

Lake Shikotsu

Scenic crater lake offers unusual water activities

By Nicole Bauer

Community writer

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The view from a small observation platform next to one of the nice and easy walking trails along the lake

Lake Shikotsu in the late afternoon, after a really cloudy day; however, the atmosphere was mesmerizing.

The red of the bridge gave a nice contrast to the surrounding blue and green colours

Canoeing is one the most popular activities here. You can pass underneath the red bridge and enter the crystal clear waters of Chitose River (Chitose-gawa).

Next to canoeing you've got funny designs of pedal boats and other creative inventions... look at the two guys on the next picture.

Walking on water? No, cycling on water is crazy

Lake Shikotsu (or Shikotsu-ko, 支笏湖 in Japanese) has surprised me by all means. It was just meant to be a last stopover before heading back to New Chitose Airport at the end of our road trip in Hokkaido, but I wished we had planned this in as a proper stay of at least 2 nights. Lake Shikotsu is a stunning crater lake with a depth of about 360 meters, which makes it the second deepest lake in Japan, after Lake Tazawa in Akita Prefecture. It offers a great variety of outdoor activities, as hiking, canoeing or even cycling on water!