The Natural Beauty of Lake Akan
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- The Natural Beauty of Lake Akan
Akan Mashu National Park
Akan Mashu National Park is located in the east of Hokkaido. This area, filled with forests and lakes, volcanoes and caldera, protects a spectacular natural environment giving home to scores of living things.
Lake Akan is in the center of the Akan Caldera area, on the west side. World famous as the habitat of spherical marimo, it's also known as the home of kokanee salmon.

Clear Water Nourished by Rich Forests
The water of rain and snow that fall on the Akan Caldera filters through the mixed broad-leaf and coniferous forests, and carries rich minerals to the lakes and rivers. In the lake, it mixes with nutrients gushing forth from lake bed hot springs to nourish the living things of the lake, like marimo and more.

Land of Magnificent Volcanoes

Akan's abundant forests and wetlands were all born of incredible volcanic activity. In the Ainu language, Pinneshir (Mt. Oakandake) means "man mountain," and Matneshir (Mt. Meakandake) is "woman mountain."
The legend of these two mountain symbols of the region has been passed down among the Ainu since ancient times.
Life with the Creatures called Kamuy
Akan's rich forests are the cradle of precious living things, such as Blakiston's fish owls, known as Kotankor Kamuy, the protector of the village, or the kamuy of the mountain, the brown bear Kimun Kamuy.
Some of the great trees have watched over this deep, rich natural environment for 800 years, and we must continue to preserve and pass it on.
