A Blue-tiful Japanese Pond
The water in the Blue Pond, located in the town of Biei in Hokkaido, takes on different shades depending on the season.
Created in 1988, this man-made Blue Pond was dug to protect the residents from lava flows from nearby Mount Tokachi.
A colour produced by the volcano
This simple pond soon became a tourist attraction thanks to the highly saturated blue colour of its water, which seems almost unreal. These unusual colours are not exclusively due to the reflections of the sky on the surface of the water, but also to the aluminium and sulphur hydroxides which whiten the stones in the pond. The trees growing in the middle of the water accentuate the mystical character of the place.
This artificial wonder in Hokkaido was popularised thanks to Apple, who used a photo of the Blue Pond as one of the wallpapers for its computers.
More information about the Blue Pond can be found on the Japan National Tourism Organisation website.
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