Glossary
Natural parks and protected areas
Natural parks are areas designated to protect outstanding natural scenery and promote its use. Japan has national parks and quasi-national parks designated by the national government, and prefectural natural parks designated by prefectures (in Hokkaido, Hokkaido prefectural natural parks). Many lakes lie within such areas.
Lakes and protected areas in Japan
The national lake survey checked whether each lake, its islands or its shore lay within a natural park or nature conservation area (together, protected areas). In the 1991 survey, 299 of Japan's 478 lakes (63%) were within some kind of protected area:
- In national parks: 150 lakes (31% of all)
- In quasi-national parks: 86 lakes (18%)
- In prefectural natural parks: 54 lakes (11%)
- In prefectural nature conservation areas: 9 lakes (2%)
Natural parks with Hokkaido lakes
76 of the 127 lakes in this catalog lie within natural parks. Parks are shown under their current names: Hidaka-sanmyaku Erimo Quasi-National Park became Hidaka-sanmyaku Erimo Tokachi National Park on June 25, 2024.
| Natural park | Lakes |
|---|---|
| Shikotsu-Toya National Park | 11 |
| Akan-Mashu National Park | 10 |
| Daisetsuzan National Park | 9 |
| Rishiri-Rebun-Sarobetsu National Park | 8 |
| Abashiri Quasi-National Park | 8 |
| Kita Okhotsk Prefectural Natural Park | 6 |
| Akkeshi-Kiritappu-Konbumori Quasi-National Park | 6 |
| Niseko-Shakotan-Otaru Kaigan Quasi-National Park | 4 |
| Onuma Quasi-National Park | 4 |
| Notsuke-Furen Prefectural Natural Park | 3 |
| Kushiroshitsugen National Park | 3 |
| Shiretoko National Park | 2 |
| Shokanbetsu-Teuri-Yagishiri Quasi-National Park | 1 |
| Hidaka-sanmyaku Erimo Tokachi National Park | 1 |
Ramsar Sites
The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty to conserve wetlands, especially as waterbird habitat. 19 lakes in this catalog lie within designated Ramsar Sites, marked as such in the data table on each lake page.