The lake
Lake Chuzenji: a volcano, 1,269 metres, and 48 hairpins
The second half of a Nikko day is a different country from the first. Above the shrine the road climbs a mountain in forty-eight numbered bends and arrives at a lake that a volcano made, a thousand two hundred and sixty-nine metres up, several degrees colder than the town below and empty in a way the shrine never is.
Quick answer
Lake Chuzenji sits at 1,269 metres above Nikko, formed when an eruption of Mount Nantai dammed the valley. It is reached by the Irohazaka road, which climbs in 48 numbered hairpins — 28 on the descending route and 20 on the ascending one. Kegon Falls drops 97 metres from its outflow. Reaching the lake adds about ninety minutes each way to a Nikko day.
Lake Chuzenji, at a glance
- Altitude
- 1,269 mand noticeably colder than the town
- Formed by
- Mount Nantaian eruption dammed the valley
- The road up
- Irohazaka48 numbered hairpins in total
- Down / up
- 28 / 20 curvesone-way in each direction
- Named after
- The old alphabet48 syllables, 48 bends
- From the shrine
- ~40 minby road, longer in autumn
- Kegon Falls
- At the outflow97 metres, in a single drop
- Boat cruises
- In seasonand a separate ticket
- Best season
- Late autumnand it is the busiest for the same reason
- Winter
- Road can closeand the lake drops off some itineraries
The road
What is the Irohazaka road?
Forty-eight bends named after forty-eight syllables, and slow in November.
A mountain road with forty-eight numbered hairpin bends, and the numbering is the charming part.
Japanese has an old ordering of its syllabary called iroha, from a poem that uses every syllable exactly once — the equivalent of a pangram used as an alphabet. It has forty-eight syllables. The road up to Lake Chuzenji has forty-eight curves, so each one is labelled with a syllable in order, and the road is named after the poem.
It runs one way in each direction: twenty-eight curves on the descending route and twenty on the ascending one, which is why nobody has to meet a coach on a hairpin. The climb takes about twenty minutes with no traffic.
In late autumn there is traffic. The road passes through the best maple colour in the region and half of Kanto drives up to see it, and a twenty-minute climb becomes an hour. Tours in that fortnight run late as a matter of routine, and it is worth building the slack into your evening rather than resenting it.
At the top
Five things at Lake Chuzenji
Ninety minutes covers two of these comfortably and all five in a hurry.
- Kegon Falls
At the lake’s outflow, ninety-seven metres, with a lift to the base. This is what most tours mean when they say they visit the lake.
- The lakeshore itself
Wide, cold and framed by Mount Nantai. In autumn the colour comes down to the water and it is the photograph people remember from the day.
- Boat cruises
In season, from the pier, and a separate ticket. Pleasant rather than essential, and it eats an hour.
- The old embassy villas
Britain and Italy both built summer legations here, because the lake was where foreign diplomats escaped the Tokyo heat. Both are open and both are quiet.
- Yumoto, further up
A small hot-spring village beyond the lake, which almost no day tour reaches and which is the reason to stay a night.
Reaching the lake is the single biggest difference between the tours on this page.
Which tours actually go→Every trip, current fare
Every tour, and whether the lake is included
Twelve tours, cheapest first. The lake column is the one to read: several listings mention Chuzenji in the description without stopping there.
| Tour | Length | Price | Lake Chuzenji | Cost per hour | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private Tour with English-Speaking GuideA private guide at a coach price | 10 h | $66 | If you want it | $6.60 | 5.0 · 45 |
| World Heritage Sites & Hot Spring Day TripThe World Heritage sites and a hot spring | 10 h | $71 | Not included | $7.10 | 5.0 · 1 |
| Kegon Falls, Lake Chuzenji & ToshoguThe most-reviewed Nikko day, lake included | 10.5 h | $74 | Included | $7.05 | 4.6 · 2,272 |
| Toshogu Shrine and Lake Chuzenji Day TripToshogu and the lake, no waterfall stop | 10 h | $75 | Included | $7.50 | 4.4 · 33 |
| Toshogu Shrine and Kegon Waterfall TourThe shrine and the waterfall, most booked | 10.5 h | $83 | Falls only | $7.90 | 4.5 · 1,506 |
| Guided Day Trip to the World Heritage SitesAll three World Heritage sites | 10 h | $88 | Not included | $8.80 | 4.7 · 75 |
| Private Customizable Day Tour with DriverA driver, a vehicle and your own itinerary | 10 h | $303 | If you want it | $30.30 | 5.0 · 26 |
| Full-Day Personal and Private TourA private day, rated 4.9 | 10 h | $311 | If you want it | $31.10 | 4.9 · 316 |
| World Heritage Site Private Day TripA private car and driver | 10 h | $337 | If you want it | $33.70 | 5.0 · 1 |
| Nikko Day Tour with English DriverAn English-speaking driver, flexible route | 10 h | $342 | Included | $34.20 | 4.8 · 23 |
| Private Tour: Toshogu Shrine & Kegon FallsToshogu, the lake and the falls, privately | 10 h | $397 | Included | $39.70 | 4.4 · 11 |
| World Heritage Site Private Full-Day TripThe most complete private day here | 10–11 h | $458 | If you want it | $43.62 | 5.0 · 436 |
Common questions
Lake Chuzenji, answered
How high is Lake Chuzenji?
1,269 metres above sea level, which makes it noticeably colder than Nikko town below and a genuine summer retreat.
How was Lake Chuzenji formed?
By an eruption of Mount Nantai, the volcano above it, which dammed the valley.
What is the Irohazaka road?
The mountain road from Nikko up to the lake, with 48 numbered hairpin bends — 28 on the descending route and 20 on the ascending one. It is named after the old 48-syllable ordering of the Japanese alphabet.
How long does it take to get to Lake Chuzenji from Nikko?
About forty minutes by road from the shrine district with no traffic, and considerably longer in late autumn when the road fills.
Is Lake Chuzenji included on Nikko day tours?
On some. It is the single most useful thing to check before booking, because reaching the lake adds about ninety minutes each way and several listings mention it without going.
Can you visit Lake Chuzenji in winter?
Yes, though the road can close in heavy snow and several tours drop the lake from the itinerary between December and March. Ask before booking a winter day around it.
Go deeper
More on Nikko
Nikko Toshogu
The mausoleum of Ieyasu, and why it is covered in gold.
The dayA day trip from Tokyo
Ten hours, four of them travelling, and what fits into the rest.
Getting thereTokyo to Nikko
Two railways, two hours, and which pass covers what.
All threeThe shrines and temples
Toshogu, Futarasan and Rinnoji, and what UNESCO listed.
The gateThe Yomeimon gate
508 carvings, no two the same, and one column upside down.
The monkeysThe three wise monkeys
One panel of eight, and the seven nobody photographs.
