Photo: Richa Jain.
Aoi Ike (Blue Pond)
nature
Aoi Ike (Blue Pond)
青い池
Overview
Man-made pond near Biei whose water turns intense cobalt blue from suspended aluminum hydroxide flowing in from upstream.
An accidental landscape created in 1988 when an erosion-control dam on the Biei River caught a tributary carrying volcanic minerals from Mt. Tokachi. The aluminum hydroxide in the water scatters blue light the same way the sky does, giving the pond a saturated turquoise color that changes with weather and season. Larch trees that drowned when the pond formed still stand bleached above the water. The pond was used as an Apple desktop wallpaper in 2014, putting it on every visitor's itinerary since.
Local tips
Mid-morning light gives the deepest blue. Winter illumination runs nightly from November through March.
Practical info
- Japanese name
- 青い池
Accessibility
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