An out-of-season visit to Akita Prefecture's Tazawako (Photo-essay)

With a depth of 423 metres (1,388 ft), Tazawako (Lake Tazawa) is Japan's deepest lake. A caldera lake that's not had much development around it (which makes it pretty rural -- and pretty, period!), it's nonetheless reachable by public transportation; albeit with the catch that service there is not super frequent; so timing is of the essence to get there (and out of there)!

Also, if you go to Tazawako out of season (i.e., not in the summer months), there's really not too much that's open or to do there.  That is, if one is not on an organized tour, one can either go on a sightseeing boat that goes around the lake (which runs only once every 2 hours!) or rent a bicycle to ride around the lake.  And while the latter could be a nice option in fine weather, the former's really the one thing to do there on a day where rain was predicted!

 

Thus it was that after we go to the lake shore, all but one of the bus passengers who disembarked at the Tawazako stop ran up to a nearby hut where a woman was selling tickets for a sightseeing boat ride around the lake. Seconds after I got on, the boat took off -- leaving just one person on the shore, looking perplexed at what had happened. As it so happens, that person was the one non-Asian passenger on the bus I had been on.  Unlike the rest of us -- who numbered less than a dozen -- it seemed he hadn't got the complete memo about the place; something which I hope readers of this blog post now will make sure to do prior to going to a locale that's far more off the beaten track than even I had realized before venturing there! :D

 

 
Puppet Ponyo and the ONE Tazawako sightseeing boat in operation 

the morning I was there (Also, this is a post-trip pic as I was 

too much in a hurry to get on the boat to take a pre-trip pic!)

 

The view encompassing the now distant shore that I had 

boarded the  sightseeing boat seconds after getting on it!

 

The water at the Goza no Ishi Jinja side of Tazawako

was an incredibly bright, almost unnatural blue!

 

At the western end of Tazawako, what first caught my eye 

was the tree on the side of the lake with red leaves on it...

 

But, actually, what this section of Tazawako is famous for is 

the golden statue of Tatsuko, a local beauty who, legend has it, 

got cursed and turned into a dragon after drinking water from the lake! 

 

Imagine how this was look during the height of koyo season...

 

Still, it's not like I didn't see much beauty on my visit to Tazawako! :)
 

Au revoir, Tazawako, its swan boats and all. (And yes, 

there really not being that many other people around when

I was there made the experience feel all the more precious!) :)