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Chubu-Sangaku NP, Nagano
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Forest green tree frogs at Ushidome Pond lay foamy egg masses on trees over the water. When the tadpoles hatch, they drop from their hanging nursery into the pond below—a tiny nursery suspended above its own habitat.
Mitsugashiwa, with white flowers, blooms in Ushidome Pond; it is a glacial-relict plant, a northern species left behind from the Ice Age. Fine hairs fringe each petal, giving the flowers a delicate, feathery look.
Beside Ushidome Pond’s shelter, a Korean pine nicknamed Neji-neji no Ki (“Twisty Tree”) loops low before growing upright. One local theory says it broke and regrew toward sunlight; its true origin remains unknown.
Ushidome Pond formed when water filled a hollow in the lava plateau created by Mount Norikura’s eruptions. The same uneven volcanic landscape beneath the highland holds dips where ponds can collect.
Ushidome combines the characters for “cow” and “stay.” Local accounts link the name to cattle gathering at the pond to drink—a small reminder that Norikura’s highland meadows were once working pasture.
On still days, Mount Norikura appears upside down in the pond; in winter, that mirror can freeze over. During a late-January patrol in 2026, a park ranger reported the ice was firm enough to walk across.
