is one of the

Fuji Five Lakes is the name of the area located at the base of Mount Fuji in the Yamanashi Prefecture of Japan. It has a population of about 100,000 and sits about above sea level. The name Fuji Five Lakes comes from the fact that there are five lakes formed by ...

and located in the town of

Fujikawaguchiko is a town located in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 26,542 in 10618 households, and a population density of 170 persons per km2. The total area of the town is . Geography Fujikawaguchiko is located in so ...

in southern

Yamanashi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Yamanashi Prefecture has a population of 817,192 (1 January 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,465 km2 (1,724 sq mi). Yamanashi Prefecture borders Saitama Prefecture to the no ...

near

Mount Fuji , or Fugaku, located on the island of Honshū, is the highest mountain in Japan, with a summit elevation of . It is the second-highest volcano located on an island in Asia (after Mount Kerinci on the island of Sumatra), and seventh-highest p ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Lake Shōji is the smallest of the

in terms of surface area, and third deepest, with a maximum water depth of . Its surface elevation of is the same as for

Lake Motosu is the westernmost of the Fuji Five Lakes and located on the border of the towns of Fujikawaguchiko and Minobu in southern Yamanashi Prefecture near Mount Fuji, Japan. Lake Motosu is the third-largest of the Fuji Five Lakes in terms of surface ...

and

Lake Sai A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

, confirming that these three lakes were originally a single lake, which was divided 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 The Japanese white crucian carp, also known as Japanese carp, white crucian carp, or gengoro-buna (''Carassius cuvieri''), is a species of freshwater fish in the carp family (family Cyprinidae). It is found in Japan and, as an introduced species, ...

and ''wakasagi'' were introduced to the lake in the

Meiji period The is 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 colonization ...

, 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 (oshiir ...

Tourist attractions in Yamanashi Prefecture Landforms of Yamanashi Prefecture Mount Fuji Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi

See also

Notes

References