is a quasi-national park on

Honshū , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island sepa ...

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 n ...

. It is rated a protected landscape (category V) according to the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

. The park includes the Yatsugatake Mountains and the surrounding lava plateaus: Tateshina plateau, Kirigamine, and Utsukushigahara. It straddles the border between Nagano and Yamanashi prefectures. Mount Aka is the highest point in the park at 2,899 m. The volcanoes of the Yatsugatake mountains erupted from the middle of the Fossa Magna ( ja) and spread skirts of lava south, east and west.

Lake Matsubara 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 ...

, Shirakoma Pond, and

Lake Shirakaba 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 ...

attract tourists to the region for boating, skating, and camping. Utsukushigahara is a lava plateau at the northern end of the park and offers views of the Northern Alps. The extensive lava plateau of Kirigahara is popular for hiking. There are also a number of onsens in addition to the hotsprings at Tateshina. The park was designated a quasi-national in 1964. Like all quasi-national parks in Japan, the park is managed by the prefectural government.

References

National parks of Japan Parks and gardens in Yamanashi Prefecture Parks and gardens in Nagano Prefecture Protected areas established in 1964 {{Japan-protected-area-stub

See also

References