🌿 Nature
Lake Towada
A deep, forest-ringed caldera lake with boat cruises and the lakeside Maidens statue.
Typical duration
90 min
Price
Free; boat cruise ~¥1,500 (≈ €8.8 / $9.5)
From port
50 km / 31.1 mi
Transfer time
120 min
Indoor / Outdoor
outdoor
Queue risk
low
🕐 Best time to visit
Autumn for the foliage; calm mornings for the boat
Lake Towada is a huge, double caldera lake straddling the border of Aomori and Akita, its deep blue water ringed by steep forested crater walls. From the lakeside village of Yasumiya you can take a sightseeing boat out across the caldera, walk to the twin bronze Maidens by the Lake statue by the sculptor Takamura Kotaro, or visit the Towada shrine in the woods. Together with the Oirase Gorge that drains it, the lake is the centrepiece of the Towada-Hachimantai National Park.
Getting there from the port
At the end of the Oirase road; seasonal JR bus or coach, about 2 hours