Photogenic spots of deep nature Lake Akan (#1 Souko-dai, Sougaku-dai)
Kamuy Lumina is held at Lake Akan area in Akan-Mashu National Park, located in the eastern part of Hokkaido.
Surrounded by rich nature, visitors can enjoy the beautiful scenery of Lake Akan, an unique green algae ball “Marimo” which lake Akan is their home.
And the mountains in Akan were selected as one of the 100 most famous mountains in Japan!
This week, we would like to introduce some spots where you can take your time and enjoy the spectacular view of this great nature!
Be sure to check them out if you are a photography enthusiast!
Water of lake Akan comes from other lakes?
In this episode, we will introduce you to Soukodai and Sougakudai, two spectacular spots where you can enjoy the amazing natural scenery of the forests and lakes of Akan.
The locations of the two spots are very easy to reach as they are only a 20-minute drive from the Lake Akan Onsen area.
If you are departing from Lake Akanko Onsen, just drive about 5 minutes toward Kushiro and you will see the road sign shown in the photo above.
At that time, please turn left! (National Road 241, Teshikaga direction)
After the turn, you will see another road sign showing the direction of "Sogakudai" on the right side immediately.
And from now on you only need to drive straight.
This route is part of Route 241, which connects Lake Akan Onsen to the neighboring town of Teshikaga.
Also the road is known as the "Akan Crossing Road," the winding road attracts many motorbike riders and drivers here to enjoy a nice drive on sunny days!
After driving for about 15 minutes, you will see a sign for "Sokodai" on the left, so be sure to stop by before going to "Sogakudai"!
Sokodai is a viewing spot where you can see two lakes.
So, you may have a question: Can I see Lake Akan from here?
In fact, this is not a spot for Lake Akan.
The lake in front of you is called "Penketo," and if you look closely, you can see that the shape of the lake looks a bit like the shape of Hokkaido!
''Penketo'' is the Ainu word meaning "upper lake," and another lake which is behind “Penketo”, it is called "Panketo" (lower lake in Ainu language).
In fact, the water of Lake Akan flows out from Penketo, which is at the highest elevation, via Panketo.
The forests surrounding Panketo and Penketo are designated as a special protection area in Akan-Mashu National Park, protecting the pristine forest.
It is very difficult to reach the lakeshore, but this makes the natural environment of the forest and lake very beautiful and contributes to the high quality of Lake Akan's water.
Amazing photogenic spot of active volcanoes Mt. Meakan and Mt. Oakan!
We hope you enjoyed the view from Sokodai!
If you go further towards Teshikaga for about 5 minutes from the Sokodai parking lot, you will see another small parking space as shown in the photo above.
This is "Sogakudai '' where you can enjoy the view of two active volcanoes, Mt. Meakan and Mt. Oakan)!
Looking straight ahead, the large mountain on the right is Mt. Oakan.
You can also enjoy the beautiful scenery of Mt. Oakan from Lake Akanko Onsen, but the shape of the mountain is completely different when viewed from a different angle.
On the far left side is Mt. Oakan. On a clear day, you can see the ridge clearly and enjoy the volcanic scenery.
If you have binoculars, you may be able to see some climbers!
On the left side, there is a house in the middle of the Akan forest. You may have already noticed that this building is a small house right next to "Sokodai," which we stopped by earlier.
I guess you would think, "Wow, they built a villa in an amazing place!
In this episode, we introduced Sokodai and Sogakudai, two spots with spectacular views of Akan's forests and lakes!
It is only a 20-minute drive from Lake Akan, so it is very easy to get there and the scenery is very beautiful, so please stop by!
However, due to the high elevation of the road, the area is very prone to fog.
Drive safe and be careful of animals jumping out of the road!
Ticket information
■Where can I buy tickets? How is the opening time?
Tickets are available at the official website, hotels around Lake Akan, "Kamuy Lumina" Ticket Booth, and designated travel agencies.
Fees: Adults (junior high school students and older)
Child (elementary school student)
*Preschool children or below are free of charge.
Official website (Ticket purchase page): https://webket.jp/pc/ticket/index?fc=52386&ac=9000
Starting time changes depending on the sunset time. So be sure to check when planning your trip!
2024 season opening hours:
May 11 (Sat) - August 9 (Fri) 19:30 - 21:00
August 10 (Sat) - August 30 (Fri) 19:00 - 21:00
Asugust 31 (Sat) - September 13 (Friday) 18:30 - 21:30
September 15 (Sun) - September 30 (Mon) 18:00 - 21:30
October 1 (Tue) - November 3 (Sun) 17:30 - 21:00
November 4 (Mon) - November 9 (Sat) 17:30 - 20:30
This special website will provide information not only about "Kamuy Lumina", but also sightseeing information about the town, Lake Akan Onsen, where this event is held. Please check out the latest and seasonal recommendations here.
We will also announce the release of web articles on Facebook and Instagram.
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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kamuy_lumina/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/akan.adventure/
We hope to meet you soon at the event of "Kamuy Lumina"!
阿寒湖森林夜行
郵遞區號085-0467
北海道釧路市阿寒町阿寒湖溫泉1丁目5-20
