is one of the Fuji Five Lakes and located in the town of Fujikawaguchiko in southern

Yamanashi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Yamanashi Prefecture has a population of 787,592 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,465 km2 (1,724 sq mi). Yamanashi Prefecture borders Saitama Prefecture to the n ...

near

Mount Fuji is an active stratovolcano located on the Japanese island of Honshu, with a summit elevation of . It is the highest mountain in Japan, the second-highest volcano on any Asian island (after Mount Kerinci on the Indonesian island of Sumatra), a ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Lake Shōji is the smallest of the Fuji Five Lakes in terms of surface area, and third deepest, with a maximum water depth of . Its surface elevation of is the same as that of Lake Motosu and

Lake Sai , sometimes Saiko, is one of the Fuji Five Lakes and located in the town of Fujikawaguchiko in southern Yamanashi Prefecture near Mount Fuji, Japan. It is the fourth of the Fuji Five Lakes in terms of surface area, and second deepest, with a ...

, confirming that these three lakes were originally a single lake, which was divided into three by an enormous lava flow from Mount Fuji during an eruption from 864-868 AD. The remnants of the lava flow are now under the Aokigahara Jukai Forest, and there is evidence to indicate that these three lakes remain connected by underground waterways. The lake is within the borders of the

Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park is a national park in Yamanashi, Shizuoka, and Kanagawa Prefectures, and western Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. It consists of Mount Fuji, Fuji Five Lakes, Hakone, the Izu Peninsula, and the Izu Islands. Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park covers . Rat ...

. As with the other Fuji Five Lakes, the area is a popular resort, with many lakeside hotels, windsurfing facilities, camp sites, and excursion boats. Japanese white crucian carp and ''wakasagi'' were introduced to the lake in the

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

, and sports fishing is also popular. The water of the lake lacks transparency and has a tendency towards a greenish hue due to algae. Lake Shōji is given the name "Switzerland of East Asia" because Englishmen in the Meiji Era explored around the base of Mount Fuji, and remarked that the view of the mountain was most beautiful from Lake Shoji. The placid lake is rich in nutrients which include plankton. Here, rental boats are available along the shore to rent.

Notes

References

*Rafferty, John P. Plate Tectonics, Volcanoes, and Earthquakes. Rosen Publishing (2010), {{DEFAULTSORT:Lake Shoji

Shoji A is a door, window or room divider used in traditional Japanese architecture, consisting of translucent (or transparent) sheets on a lattice frame. Where light transmission is not needed, the similar but opaque '' fusuma'' is used (/close ...

Mount Fuji Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi

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References