Travel guide
World Heritage
Cedar Avenue of Nikko
Oku-Nikko-Shitsugen
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Nikko City Top > Travel guide > Oku-Nikko-Shitsugen (Wetlands of Oku-Nikko)
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| 260.41 hectares of Lake Yunoko, River Yukawa, Senjogahara Plateau and Odashirogahara Plateau of Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture were registered in 2005 as wetlands of international importance by the Ramsar Convention. The wetlands of Japan previously registered in the Ramsar Convention had totaled 13 sites, but 20 wetland sites were newly registered on this occasion, the new total being 33 wetland sites. The entire area of the 'Oku-Nikko-Shitsugen' is designated as the Nikko National Park, and is preserved by the National Parks Law, etc. This means that we have declared to the world that we will commit ourselves with responsibility to the preservation of the wetlands and the surrounding water systems, and to promote the wise use of these wetlands and water systems. |
| 1.Lake Yunoko |
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Yunoko is a dammed lake created by the lava flow from the eruption of Mt. Mitsudake. It is a shallow, eutrophic lake, but the proliferation of the alien pondweed known as Canadian Elodea (Elodea nuttallii) is said to be affecting the water quality.
Altitude: 1,478 meters above sea level, Area: 0.35 sq. km, Circumference: 2.9 km, Maximum water depth: 14.5 meters, Average retention time: approximately 30 days |
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Many people take strolls along the promenade encircling the lake. |
Waterfowls come flying to spend the winter here, for there is a hot spring welling up to the northeast of Lake Yunoko. |
The lake is visited by numerous anglers between May and September. |
| 2.River Yukawa |
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| The waters of Lake Yunoko pour down in the form of the Yutaki Waterfall and flow into the River Yukawa as far as the Lake Chuzenji-ko. It is one of the few rivers in Honshu, the main island of Japan, where the waters flow ever so gently. This is not a river which irrigates water to the Senjogahara Plateau but, to the contrary, it has water flowing in from Senjogahara. The area registered in 2005 does not cover the entire river but extends over the distance between the Yutaki Waterfall as far as the Senjogahara Plateau. |
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Yukawa was apparently the river where fly-fishing was first performed in Japan. |
Hump-like clusters of overgrown sedge roots known as 'Yachi-bozu' (floating sedge) rise high above the ground to withstand rising waters. |
Yutaki is a dynamic waterfall with the waters gushing down the rocks. |
| 3.Senjogahara Plateau |
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| This is a marshland produced as a result of the river being dammed up by the lava flow from the eruption of Mt. Nantai-san. Wetlands can be broadly divided into the high moor covered with thick layers of bog moss (sphagnum), the low moor where the water is stagnant and is rich in nutrients, and the intermediate moor in between the two. All three types of wetlands can be found in Senjogahara. The area newly registered as a Ramsar site is limited to the western side of the national route. |
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Watasuge (cottonsedge). Many of the wetland plants have decreased as a result of feeding |
Senjogahara is a popular hiking course in Oku-Nikko (Inner Nikko). |
The trees of zumi (Malus sieboldii Rehder, or Japanese flowering crab) are mostly found in places where sand and gravel have accumulated from nearby. |
| 4.Odashirogahara Plateau |
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| Odashirogahara is said to be in the process of transition from a moor to a grassland, yet academic researches have not been conducted extensively, and specific details are not known. The greater part of Odashirogahara was planted with karamatsu (Japanese larch trees), and the area which was burned down in a wildfire is now a grassland. Although it appears to be flat, there is a diversity in vegetation according to the different elevations. |
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In the season of autumnal grass (kusa momiji), beautiful patterns are created by the variety of vegetation. |
A transient lake known as 'Odashiro-ko' appears after a heavy rainfall. |
No-azami thistles growing gregariously.
The no-azami thistles have been revived owing to the electric deer fences set up in the vicinity. |
For inquiries, please contact:
Tourist and Industrial Commerce Division, Nikko General Branch Office (of Nikko City)
591, Miyuki-cho, Nikko City, 321-1404
TEL0288-53-3795 FAX0288-53-3096 |
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