Lake Shikotsu

Lake Shikotsu (or Shikotsu-ko, 支笏湖 in Japanese) has surprised me by all means. It was just meant to be a last stopover before heading back to New Chitose Airport at the end of our road trip in Hokkaido, but I wished we had planned this in as a proper stay of at least 2 nights. Lake Shikotsu is a stunning crater lake with a depth of about 360 meters, which makes it the second deepest lake in Japan, after Lake Tazawa in Akita Prefecture. It offers a great variety of outdoor activities, as hiking, canoeing or even cycling on water!