Okama Crater Lake
御釜 (蔵王連峰)
Opening hours and admission for this place have not been checked yet, so none are shown. Check the official site
Our guide
Okama, “the honourable cauldron”, is the crater lake of an inactive crater at the top of Mount Zaō, in Kawasaki, Miyagi, on the border with Yamagata. Local people call it Okama, but visitors often call it Goshiki-numa, the “Five Colour Pond”, because its colour changes with the time of day, the weather and the season. It lies about 1,600 m above sea level; a 1968 survey measured it at 325 m across in both directions and 27.6 m at its deepest.
It is high on the mountain. We have not checked roads, buses or conditions, so check local information and the weather before you go.
Written by japan-spots.com (2026-09-22) from the sources credited on this page. Distances are straight lines between map positions.
Photos
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence — see credits
- Zao L.Okama — Qwert1234 · Public domain · source · resized
- 蔵王-御釜 — かなえゆうじん · CC0 · source · resized
- Zao okama lake — Geomr · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source · resized
- Zao 2006 Sanctuary — Crown of Lenten rose · CC BY 3.0 · source · resized
- ZAO caldera 01 — ChampagneFight · Public domain · source · resized
- Mount Zao 20161007 114748 — Ka23 13 · CC BY 4.0 · source · resized
- Lake Okama (Zao), Miyagi 09 — Σ64 · CC BY 4.0 · source · resized
- Okama lake zao — Markmark28 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source · resized
- ZAO OKAMA 1 — f_a_r_e_w_e_l_l · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source · resized
- Zao Okama 20100905 — Shift · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source · resized
What this place is
Okama (御釜), meaning an honourable cauldron, is the inactive volcanic crater (crater lake) on top of Mount Zaō, located in Kawasaki, Miyagi, on the border with Yamagata, Japan. While local people call it affectionately Okama, the visitors tend to call it Goshiki-numa (五色沼), meaning "Five Color Pond", because its color changes depending on the time of the day, the weather, or the season of the year. Okama Crater Lake is situated at the height of about 1600 meters above sea level. According to the 1968 survey, its east–west and north–south diameters are both 325 meters, and maximum depth is 27.6 meters.
Background text adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
What to expect at this type of place: Lakes & falls
Getting there
We do not have step-by-step transit directions for this spot yet. Open the location on Google Maps for routes from where you are staying.
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