Akan-Mashu

Hokkaido, Japan · Lake, Mountain, Snow

Three very different volcanic lakes in Akan-Mashu National Park: Akan, home to marimo moss balls and Hokkaido's largest Ainu community; Mashu, a cliff-ringed caldera with astonishingly clear water; and Kussharo, where the sand on the shore is warm to the touch and whooper swans spend the winter.

The essentials

Getting there

Train + bus — Akan Bus runs from JR Kushiro Station (about 2 hours, ¥2,750, only a few departures a day) or from Kushiro Airport (about 1 hour 15 minutes) to Akanko Onsen; the Mashu and Kawayu side has its own stations on the JR Senmo Line, though trains are very infrequent. Public transport between the three lakes is minimal, so a rental car is close to essential — alternatively, take the guided Pirika sightseeing bus from Kushiro (April to December, reservation required).

Frequently asked questions about Akan-Mashu

What to do in Akan-Mashu: 27 activities

• Akanko Ainu Kotan 1.5 h must-see

  Hokkaido's largest Ainu community: a street in Akanko Onsen where about 120 people live and where carvers and craftspeople run their own workshops and shops selling woodcarving, embroidery and mukkuri (mouth harps). It is a living neighbourhood, not an open-air museum; several workshops offer carving or mukkuri classes by reservation.

• Iozan (Sulphur Mountain) 1 h must-see Teshikaga (Kawayu Onsen) · 65 min

  An active volcano beside Kawayu Onsen where you walk among yellow sulphur vents just a few metres away; the rest house sells eggs steamed in volcanic vapour. Parking costs ¥500 and is shared with Lake Mashu Observatory 1; it is about a 20-minute walk from Kawayu Onsen Station.

• Lake Mashu from Observatories 1 and 3 1.5 h must-see Teshikaga · 60 min

  A caldera lake ringed by 200-metre walls, with no inflowing or outflowing rivers and a reputation as one of the clearest lakes on Earth; you cannot go down to the water, only look from the rim. Observatory 1 has a shop and parking (¥500 from May to October, also valid at Iozan) and is open year-round; the free, higher Observatory 3 is cut off in winter when the road closes. Mornings are often fogged in.

• Ainu cuisine at Poronno 1 h

  A family-run Ainu restaurant in the Kotan that has served yuk ohaw (venison soup), pocche imo (fermented potato cakes) and pumpkin ratashkep for over forty years. Through the Anytime, Ainutime! program you can book a full set meal explained by the owners themselves (¥4,500, cash only, in Japanese).

• Bokke Trail and Akanko Visitor Center 1.5 h

  A flat forest walk from the village to the shore where the bokke — bubbling volcanic mud pots — gurgle away. The free visitor center has tanks of living marimo and explains the national park (9:00–17:00, closed Tuesdays); ask there about recent bear sightings before setting out.

• Canoeing the source of the Kushiro River 2.5 h booking Teshikaga · 50 min

  With a guide, you paddle out of Lake Kussharo and down the first stretch of the Kushiro River — crystal-clear water under dense forest — to the still pool known as Kagami no Ma. A half day costs around ¥11,000 per person; several outfitters run from May to October and some also in winter, with dry suits and frost-covered trees.

• Ice fishing for wakasagi on the frozen lake 2 h only 1 Jan - 31 Mar

  At Ice Land Akan, out on the frozen lake, you fish for pond smelt (wakasagi) through a hole in the ice with gear and permit included, and your catch is fried into tempura on the spot (around ¥2,200). There are also snowmobiles and towed sled rides; activities open as the ice thickens.

• Kamuy Lumina night forest walk 1 h only 26 May - 3 Nov

  A 1.2 km forest trail by the lake with lights, sound and projections telling a story drawn from Ainu tales, created by Moment Factory together with the Akan community. ¥4,000 at the door, ¥3,500 in advance; it starts after dusk and the 2026 season runs from May 26 to November 3.

• Lake Akan cruise and Marimo Exhibition Center 1.5 h only 15 Apr - 30 Nov

  An 85-minute loop of the lake with a 15-minute stop on Churui Island, where a small center displays marimo — algae balls designated a Special Natural Monument that only grow large here. ¥2,700 including admission; no sailings from December to mid-April while the lake is frozen.

• Lost Kamuy (Ainu dance and digital art) 0.5 h

  An Ikor Theater production combining Ainu ceremonial dance, contemporary dance and digital projections to tell the story of people and the now-extinct Ezo wolf. Year-round at 21:00, ¥2,200.

• Marimo Festival 3 h only 8-10 Oct

  From October 8 to 10, Ainu from all over Hokkaido gather at Akan for kamuy-nomi ceremonies, dances and a torchlit procession; the festival dates back to 1950 and began as an effort to protect the marimo and return them to the lake. It coincides with autumn colours along the shore.

• Sunayu and the swans of Lake Kussharo 1 h Teshikaga · 60 min

  On this beach of Japan's largest caldera lake, dig ten centimetres and hot water wells up; in summer kids make their own little pools. From November to April the geothermal heat keeps the shore ice-free and hundreds of whooper swans from Siberia gather there; they are wild birds, so please don't feed them.

• Traditional Ainu dance at Ikor Theater 0.5 h

  Ainu ceremonial dances, listed by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage, performed by community members in the theater run by the Akan Ainu Industrial Arts Association (¥1,500, 30 minutes). From May to October there are shows at 11:00, 13:30 and 20:00; from November to April, only at 20:00.

• Winter ice festival fireworks (Fuyu Hanabi) 1 h only every night, February to mid-March

  During the festival on the frozen lake, fireworks go up every night around 20:00, preceded by a fire ceremony led by the Ainu community. Free; in 2026 it ran from February 1 to March 1, with fireworks continuing until March 15 but without access to the ice.

• Akanko Onsen hot springs 1.5 h

  The big hotels on the south shore open their baths to day visitors for ¥500–1,500, several with outdoor pools looking across the lake to Mt. Oakan. If you are staying over, the classic move is a soak after the evening show at the Kotan.

• Bihoro Pass 0.5 h Bihoro · 55 min

  A viewpoint at 525 metres taking in the whole of Lake Kussharo, with Nakajima island in the middle and, on clear days, the Shiretoko mountains beyond. On some mornings at dawn the lake disappears under a sea of clouds; the roadside station next door sells local products.

• Climbing Mt. Meakan 5 h Ashoro · 25 min

  An active 1,499-metre volcano (alert level 1) with steaming craters and views over Onneto and Lake Akan; the most popular route starts at Lake Onneto, 4.4 km and four to six hours round trip. Start early and bring boots and warm layers: the weather turns fast, there are bears, and accidents have been increasing.

• Guided stargazing or sunrise at Lake Mashu 2 h booking Teshikaga · 60 min

  Local guides in Teshikaga and Kawayu run night trips to the caldera rim to see skies free of light pollution, and dawn trips to try for the sea of clouds. Most pick up at Kawayu Onsen hotels; in winter it easily drops below -15 °C.

• Kawayu Onsen and its acidic waters 2 h Teshikaga · 65 min

  A small, somewhat faded hot-spring town at the foot of Iozan, with strongly acidic sulphur water that tingles on the skin and a hot stream running through the centre. A good alternative base to Akanko Onsen if you arrive by train: it has its own JR station, with a footbath in the 1936 station building.

• Kotan no Yu open-air bath on Lake Kussharo 1 h Teshikaga · 50 min

  A free hot-spring pool on the lakeshore in the hamlet of Kussharo Kotan: it is mixed-gender, with a large rock in the middle separating the men's and women's sides, and swimsuits or towels are allowed. Open 24 hours except Fridays, when it is cleaned and reopens at 16:00; in winter swans swim just a few metres away.

• Lake Onneto 1.5 h Ashoro · 25 min only 1 May - 30 Nov

  A small forest lake at the foot of Mt. Meakan that shifts from blue to emerald green with the light; boats and noise are not allowed. The access road closes from early December until spring, so in winter it can only be reached on snowshoes with proper gear.

• Ramen at Teshikaga Ramen Sohonten 1 h Teshikaga · 55 min

  The chain's original shop near Mashu Station, known for its gyokai shibori shoyu, a soy tare concentrated with dried scallop and other seafood. Open 11:00–20:00 nearly every day of the year and a handy stop between Akan and Lakes Mashu and Kussharo.

• Tsutsujigahara Nature Trail 1 h Teshikaga (Kawayu Onsen) · 65 min

  A flat 2.5 km path between the Kawayu Visitor Center and Iozan where, thanks to the volcanic gases, alpine plants grow at only 150 metres above sea level; in June some 100 hectares of white marsh azalea bloom. In winter you can walk it on snowshoes rented at the center; bears live in the area.

• Beef stew at Kawayu Onsen Station 1 h Teshikaga (Kawayu Onsen) · 65 min

  Orchard Grass occupies the old waiting room of the 1936 Kawayu Onsen Station, with stained glass and a pendulum clock; its signature dish is a stew of black-haired beef from neighbouring Shibecha. Open 10:00–16:00, closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

• Climbing Mt. Oakan 6 h

  The forested 1,370-metre cone that towers over the lake's east side; the trail starts at Takiguchi, a few minutes' drive from the village, and passes Lakes Taro and Jiro. Roughly 3.5 hours up and 2.5 down, with no facilities along the way and in bear country.

• Kaminoko Pond 0.5 h Kiyosato · 100 min

  A pool of intense blue water believed to be fed by underground seepage from Lake Mashu, with fallen trunks lying perfectly preserved on the bottom. It is far off, in Kiyosato, at the end of a dirt forest road — worth it if you are circling north of Mashu on the way to Shiretoko or Abashiri.

• Kussharo Kotan Ainu Museum 1 h Teshikaga · 50 min only 10 Apr - 30 Nov

  A small municipal museum next to Kotan no Yu on the south shore of Lake Kussharo, displaying tools, clothing and ritual objects of the local Ainu across five themed rooms. ¥420, 9:00–17:00; in 2026 it is open from April 10 to November 30.

What only happens on specific dates

• Ice fishing for wakasagi on the frozen lake 1 Jan - 31 Mar
• Winter ice festival fireworks (Fuyu Hanabi) every night, February to mid-March
• Lake Akan cruise and Marimo Exhibition Center 15 Apr - 30 Nov
• Kussharo Kotan Ainu Museum 10 Apr - 30 Nov
• Kamuy Lumina night forest walk 26 May - 3 Nov
• Lake Onneto 1 May - 30 Nov
• Marimo Festival 8-10 Oct

Ready-made routes through Akan-Mashu

Chains well with

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