Kaminoko Pond (Child of God Pond)

Biei’s Blue Pond gets the tour buses; eastern Hokkaido keeps a smaller, stranger blue pond at the end of a forest road, and most visitors never hear about it.

Why It’s Interesting

Kaminoko-ike — “Child of God Pond” — is barely 220 meters around and five meters deep, but it’s fed by underground water believed to seep from Lake Mashu, the mysteriously outlet-less caldera lake that’s among the clearest in the world (its Ainu-derived reputation as “lake of the gods” gives the little pond its name). The water emerges at about 8°C year-round and is so cold and clean that whole fallen trees lie on the bottom without rotting, sharply visible through water that shifts from emerald to deep cobalt as the light moves. Small native char drift between the trunks. The 2-kilometer gravel approach road keeps the crowds to a trickle, which is most of the charm.

Best Time to Visit

June through September, on a sunny day near midday for the deepest blue; the forest road closes under snow from roughly December to late April.

Getting There

Effectively car-only: about 15 minutes from JR Midori Station or 25 kilometers from central Kiyosato town, with the final 2km on a narrow unpaved forest road. Combine it with the Lake Mashu viewpoints 20 minutes away.