Lake Chuzenji & Kegon Falls — Mountain Lake Sanctuary

Lake Chuzenji sits at 1,269 meters in a volcanic caldera formed 20,000 years ago when Mount Nantai erupted and lava dammed the valley. The lake is 4 kilometers across, surrounded by forested mountains, and fed by snowmelt from the peaks of Nikko National Park. The water is cold, clear, and intensely blue. The lakeside town of Chuzenjiko has been a mountain resort since the Meiji era, when foreign diplomats and Japanese elite built summer villas to escape Tokyo's heat.

Kegon Falls, one of Japan's three great waterfalls, drains Lake Chuzenji in a single 97-meter plunge into a narrow gorge. The falls are accessed via an elevator (¥570) that descends through solid rock to an observation platform at the base, where spray fills the air and the roar drowns conversation. The combination of alpine lake, mountain views, waterfall, and onsen (the area has several hot spring hotels) makes Chuzenji-Kegon a complete mountain retreat, best experienced outside summer's peak tourist season.