The Lake Akan area is also home to Japan’s Indigenous Ainu people, including the Akanko Ainu Kotan. The small community has art galleries, gift shops and dining spots.

They are recognised as a national treasure in Japan where they have been a protected species since 1920, and their home, Lake Akan, has been designated a national park.

This northernmost tip of Japan is the country’s second-largest island, which became a full-fledged prefecture only in 1947. While the capital Sapporo may be the most frequented destination, the ...

Takiguchi leads tours focused on Japan's Indigenous Ainu culture near Lake Akan (Credit: Lucie Grace) "This isn't cold, it's a beautiful day," he laughed, as I hopped about, trying to stay warm in ...

In the winter months, at the bottom of Lake Akan in Hokkaido, Japan, harmless underwater algae balls that can grow to be bigger than basketballs are protected from death by an ice shield on top of ...

Rising lake water temperatures threaten the survival of marimo, unique algal balls found only in cold lakes. Kobe University researchers clarified that the warmer it gets, the more the inward ...

However, the only place where specimens larger than 20 cm in diameter can now be found is in Lake Akan in northern Japan. view more . Credit: OYAMA Yoichi.

They are only found in a few countries and the largest marimo, found in Lake Akan, can grow up to 30 centimetres in diameter. In Japan, they are so popular that they have their own annual festival ...

Takiguchi leads tours focused on Japan's Indigenous Ainu culture near Lake Akan (Credit: Lucie Grace) "This isn't cold, it's a beautiful day," he laughed, as I hopped about, trying to stay warm in ...