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Joshin’etsukogen NP, Nagano
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Shibuike sits in a hollow left by a lava flow: volcanic rock shaped its basin, and water pooled in the depression. It’s a small-scale clue to Shiga Kogen’s fire-made landscape.
A veteran Shiga Kogen guide calls Shibuike the area’s only pond with floating islands. Mats of accumulated sphagnum and other plant remains support wetland plants—and ranger photos a year apart show two islands had drifted apart.
The floating mats and pond edge host round-leaved sundew, a carnivorous plant. Its red, sticky leaf hairs catch insects—one reason the greenery can look reddish in summer.
At roughly 1,800 m, Shibuike’s shore still supports haimatsu (dwarf stone pine), described by Nagano’s official tourism site as a rare glacial-age relic—a living reminder of colder times.
