Lake Chuzenji

Nantai erupted around twenty thousand years ago and its lava dammed the Daiya valley, creating Chuzenji at 1,269 metres - the highest lake of its size in Japan, and cold enough that the shore resorts were built as summer escapes, including a string of foreign embassy villas built from the late nineteenth century into the early twentieth, two of which are now open as museums. The road up from Nikko is the Irohazaka, a one-way pair of routes with forty-eight hairpins between them named for the syllables of the old Japanese alphabet, and it is one of the most congested roads in the country in the middle of October when the colour peaks. Kegon Falls drops 97 metres from the lake's outflow immediately beside the road, with a lift down to a viewing platform at the base. Boats cruise the lake and the Senjogahara marsh boardwalk starts above it.

The landscape

• A lava-dammed lake - at 1,269 metres, the highest of its size in Japan.
• The Irohazaka - hairpin roads named for the syllables of the old alphabet.
• Kegon Falls - a 97-metre drop at the outflow, with a lift to the base.
• Embassy villas - summer houses from the late 1800s and early 1900s, two open as museums.

When to go

Mid-October for the colour; May to October otherwise. A day.

Things to know

October traffic on the Irohazaka is severe - delays of hours are normal. Winter closes much of the area and the lake shore empties. Cloud sits on the lake often. Kegon's lift is charged separately.

Nearby

Nikko's shrines are below the pass; Senjogahara marsh is above the lake.

Key facts