Moss Forests

Around Lake Shikaribetsu, moss covers the forest floor and the rocky slopes surrounding the area's natural windholes. The lake sits within Tokachi Shikaoi Geopark, where subalpine and sphagnum moss species that rarely grow together are found in proximity, especially around the cold, moist air near windholes. More than 1,600 moss species have been identified in Japan, and several distinctive types grow here: goblin's gold glows vivid green in dark crevices and tree hollows, apple moss has small apple-shaped spore capsules, and five-ranked bog-moss forms leaf clusters resembling five-pointed stars. The Lake Shikaribetsu area holds a precious moss forest designation.