Lake Goshikinuma / Nikko-Shirane was added to Your Favorites!
Nikko NP, Gunma
Claim this place to tell your story your way.
No river flows in or out of Goshikinuma; underground leakage helps balance its level. A study recorded 131 mm of rain in one day, raising the lake about 50 cm in 4 days; as it rose, leakage increased too.
Here, “Goshikinuma” names a single lake, not a chain of ponds. Nikko’s local guide describes different colors across parts of the lake at different water levels—a layered effect behind its “Five-Color Lake” name.
Goshikinuma is less than 5 m deep and so clear that sunlight reaches its bed. Researchers concluded that the entire lake absorbs solar heat—and its water stayed warmer than the daily mean air temperature.
Despite its volcanic setting, Goshikinuma’s major dissolved ions measured close to rainwater. Sulfate and chloride were also low, so researchers found no clear volcanic chemical signature in the lake water.
In July and August, alpine flowers such as iwa-kagami and kuruma-yuri bloom around Goshikinuma. Shirane-aoi, another local flower, takes its name from Mt. Shirane, where the plant was collected.
At 2,170 m above sea level, Goshikinuma freezes over in winter. Researchers measured ice 13 cm thick in late November 2001 and 18 cm in late November 2002—quite a solid start to winter.
