Juniko Twelve

Despite its name meaning "Twelve Lakes," Juniko actually encompasses 33 lakes and ponds scattered across a beech forest on the western slopes of the Shirakami Mountains, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The star attraction is Aoike (Blue Pond), a small lake of startlingly vivid cobalt blue caused by its exceptional clarity and the way light refracts through the pure spring water. A well-maintained walking trail loops past several of the lakes in about an hour, passing through towering old-growth beech trees that create a cathedral-like canopy overhead. The area is at its best from late spring through autumn, when the forest is lush and the lake colors are most intense.