Lake Hamana, Saltwater lake in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan
Lake Hamana stretches between the cities of Hamamatsu and Kosai over more than 60 square kilometers and reaches down to 16 meters at its deepest point. The floor sits on average about five meters below the water surface, which brings extensive shallow zones with it.
A severe earthquake in the year 1498 opened a passage to the Pacific and transformed the then still sweet water into a salty lagoon. Since then seawater flows in with every tide and mixes with the inflows from the mountains.
Fishers use torches on their boats when searching for fish in spring, following old methods and preserving a technique called takiya-ryo. This way of catching at night is rare today and attracts some visitors who want to watch the play of light and water.
A cycling path of around 70 kilometers circles the entire body of water and offers places to stop and views of open areas as well as wooded shores. Bicycles can be rented at several train stations and at thermal baths, which allows a day tour at a leisurely pace.
In the salty water seaweeds grow and people also breed Japanese eels here as well as Chinese soft-shelled turtles, which tolerate the changing salt content of the water well. Oysters settle on wooden stakes along the shores and are harvested by hand.
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