Lake Ikeda

"Lake Ikeda" is located at the southern part of Satsuma Peninsula in Kagoshima Prefecture, right at the foot of Mt. Kaimondake.
Approximately 5000 years ago, a volcanic eruption made the caldera that would form Kyushu's largest (Japan's 4th largest) lake today. In the Meiji era, an irrigation canal connected this lake to the ocean, causing many saltwater fish to inflow and inhabit it.
The giant mottled eel, which is a designated natural monument of Ibusuki is a typical example of this.
When a large unidentified creature called "Issie" was witnessed in 1978, it was rumored that it must have been this giant eel.
On the lakeside, seasonal flowers such as the earliest blooming rapeseed flowers in Japan flower against the Mt. Fuji of Satsuma, the Kaimondake.
The "Ibusuki Nanohana (Rapeseed) Marathon" is held every January. In this event, runners run by the many rapeseed sceneries within the city, which of course includes Lake Ikeda.