Lake Towada area to spearhead initiative boosting value of Japan's national parks

Lake Towada is an arresting sight. Rugged, ribbed walls surrounding the crater lake plunge into deep blue, and probably very cold, waters in a primordial scene which, if you've arrived from the city, likely beggars belief that this is still Japan.

In autumn, during our visit, the rusty, earthen orange colors of the autumn leaves seemed fitting for an area which until the 1960s had carved its living out of mining the earth.

Japan’s largest crater lake straddles Akita and Aomori prefectures in the country’s northern Tohoku region. It’s the glorious centerpiece of the “Towada” part of the Towada-Hachimantai National Park.

During the heady days of Japan’s bubble economy the area welcomed over three million visitors a year and saw the kind of development which can come with that. We all know what happens to bubbles though.

The mining industry all but moved on. The burst bubble left the area haunted by rotting development, a problem exacerbated by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. COVID-19 and Japan’s population woes have added to what has been a century of prosperity and decline for the area.

With tourism returning to Japan, and with some vengeance, following the lifting of pandemic-related travel restrictions, authorities are exploring the development of the country’s national parks as sustainable resources for the industry to find room in and act as a catalyst to revitalize local communities. 

In March, Japan’s environment ministry selected the Towada area of Towada-Hachimantai National Park to serve as a model region to draw visitors into the country’s national parks.  

Through the model project local and state authorities as well as the private sector aim to tap into the undoubted environmental credentials of the Towada region by developing accommodation facilities that provide unique and inspiring nature and outdoor experiences for tourists that will encourage longer stays.

The project will address the removal of abandoned homes and other buildings, using the vacant land to attract developers of lodging facilities. 

There are other challenges that need to be addressed, according to a report by the Tohoku District Environment Bureau. 

Population decline has created a shortage in young human resources and community leaders in the region and new arrivals face challenges in finding work and suitable accommodation. 

The closure of lodging facilities and the suspension of public transportation services during winter make the promotion of the region as a year-round destination difficult. There is a six-fold difference in the number of visitors between autumn and winter, according to the report.

While the number of visitors to the region has been increasing on the back of the rebound in inbound travel, the long-term trend has been one of decline, in part due to the region's nature and culture not being fully utilized, the report claims. There is a lack of experience-based tourism content and attractive lodgings that can lead to an increased length of stay.

“It is thought that the Lake Towada region is not making enough of its inherent value,” says the report.

Through the project stakeholders plan to utilize the Lake Towada area’s rich natural resources in a sustainable way, address local issues, and provide inspiring experiences for visitors with the aim of increasing the value and appreciation of Towada-Hachimantai National Park.

The urban areas of Towada City (Aomori Prefecture), Kosaka Town and Kazuno City (both in Akita Prefecture) will also be included in the project.

In the area

Towada Hotel is the grand old dame of the area’s hotel scene, predating, and having survived, the excesses of Japan’s bubble economy era by some distance. Guests here have been enjoying impressive lake views from a perch above on the lake’s western shore since the hotel opened its doors in 1939.

The hotel was one of a number of accommodation facilities built as part of Japan’s bid to host the Olympic Games in 1940 - the games that ultimately wouldn’t happen. 

The hotel is some distance off the 5-star facilities on offer in places like Tokyo but it wears its vintage glamor with pride. Much of the hotel showcases the beautiful hues and tones of the Akita cedars from which it was originally constructed and it is delightfully nothing like the kind of tasteless architectural eyesores which scar many of Japan’s rural resort areas.

Kosaka Town, southwest of the lake has some real and surprising treat to offer visitors. 

In the center of town, Meiji Hyakunen-dori celebrates the area’s mining heritage with no shortage of pomp and splendor befitting an area which developed what was once one of the largest mining operations in Japan.

The reconstructed Kosaka Mine Office lords over the broad avenue and looks more like something you’d find in a European city of culture than in deepest darkest Akita. 

Kosaka’s Korakukan is a marvelous Meiji-era playhouse built in 1904 to entertain mine workers and their families. And the show still goes on here - Kosaka’s Korakukan is the oldest existing Western-style playhouse in Japan.

As well as the shows, Korakukan offers visitors the chance to poke around backstage, and under it, to see the mechanics that go into rotating the kaibutai performance stage and the changing of sets.

Eight industrial heritage buildings await exploration along Meiji Hyakunen-dori. Pause for a coffee from the Kosaka-machi Akarenga Club. 

Kosaka Tetsudo Rail Park showcases something of the history of the trains that arrived and departed from the Kosaka Station in support of the local mining industry.

Visitors can go out onto the tracks of what was once Kosaka Station - get a hole punched into your train / park ticket at the station office - for a fun hour or so of climbing into retro passenger carriages and engines.

The park’s Blue Train Akebono was once the sleeper express Akebono Series 24 train which ferried travelers between Tokyo and Akita and Aomori prefectures. It has since been used as an accommodation facility where guests could stay in the delightfully retro carriages.

After a pause in the service during the pandemic and a fresh coat of paint Blue Train Akebono is set to resume its role as a lodging facility from May. 

Have you been to the Lake Towada ?  What were your experiences of the region?  Let us know in the comments

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