Kinrin Lake

Kinrin Lake lies at the eastern end of Yufuin, in Yufu. A path runs all the way round it, and fish and water birds can be seen from it.

The lake was long known in the local speech as the pond below the peak, meaning Mount Yufu, which stands above the town. The present name dates from 1884, when the Confucian scholar Mori Kuso saw the scales of the fish in it catching the evening sun and gave it the name it has now, which means the lake of golden scales.

Both cold spring water and hot spring water run into the lake, and the water stays warm the whole year round. On cold mornings this shows: steam rises off the surface in winter, and from autumn onwards the lake is often under mist at first light.