Lake Kawaguchi, Landslide-dammed lake near Mount Fuji, Japan
Lake Kawaguchi is a landslide-dammed lake in Fujikawaguchiko, Japan, located about 100 kilometers west of Tokyo. Its shores span more than 100 kilometers and offer reflections of Mount Fuji on the water surface on clear days.
Lake Kawaguchi formed about 10,000 years ago when the Kenmarubi lava flow dammed the drainage of Lake Senoumi. With no natural outlet, the lake flooded its shores until the Shinkura hand-dug tunnel, 3.8 km long, was completed in 1865 to carry water to water-poor Shinkura village. A new tunnel replaced it in 1911, and the Usobukigawa outlet, finished in 1917, now discharges into the Miyagawa of the Sagami system.
The lake's name appears in Junichiro Tanizaki's novel The Makioka Sisters, whose characters stop here on a trip; a stone monument with a passage from the novel stands by the shore in front of the Fuji View Hotel, unveiled in 1996. The Kubota Itchiku Museum displays kimonos made with the Tsujigahana dyeing technique.
Direct buses and trains connect Tokyo to the lake, with early morning departures offering a higher chance of clear views toward Mount Fuji. Bicycle rentals along the northern shore allow exploration of multiple viewpoints in a few hours.
A ropeway carries visitors up Mount Tenjo, where the entire lake basin appears with Mount Fuji in the background. On windless days, double reflections form, showing both the mountain and its image on the water surface.
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