Lake Ikeda

Lake Ikeda lies at the southern tip of the Satsuma Peninsula in the city of Ibusuki, a few kilometres inland from the hot-spring resort famous for its sand baths. Almost circular and about 15 kilometres around, it is the largest lake in Kyushu and, at about 233 metres, one of the deepest in Japan.

The symmetrical cone of Mount Kaimon (924 m), called 'Satsuma Fuji', rises just to the south-west, and the view of the mountain across the lake, framed in late winter by yellow rapeseed flowers, is the emblem of the Ibusuki area.

The lake is also known for its giant mottled eels, which can grow over a metre long, and for 'Issie', a lake monster reported in 1978 in the manner of Loch Ness.

The lake fills a caldera formed by a large eruption about 6,400 years ago, part of the volcanic belt that includes the Ata caldera and Kaimon-dake. Small maar lakes nearby, such as Unagi-ike, formed in related explosions. The lake has no natural surface outlet; since the 20th century its water has been used to irrigate farmland across the southern Satsuma Peninsula.

The lake is home to giant mottled eels, a tropical species that reaches its northern limit in southern Japan; exhibition tanks by the lake show specimens. The subtropical climate allows rapeseed and other flowers to bloom in mid-winter.

In 1978 residents reported sightings of a large creature in the lake, nicknamed 'Issie' after 'Nessie'. The story became a local legend and a statue of the monster stands on the shore.