Pashikuru Pond (馬主来沼)
[Photo credit : Header image via Super Fantastic Kushiro Lake Akan (釧路・阿寒湖観光公式サイト) ]
This article is a continuation of my previous post:
The trip had two objectives when I planned:
To visit stations between Kushiro and Ikeda of JR Nemuro Main Line, especially Otanoshike, Ombetsu, Atsunai
To follow the route of discontinued JNR Chihoku Line (国鉄池北線) by local bus.
That is to say that this article on Pashikuru Pond is a by-product of the trip.
Pashikuru Pond (馬主来沼) is a sea relic lake or a coastal lagoon (海跡湖) on the border between Shiranuka Town (白糠町) and Ombetsu, Kushiro City (釧路市音別), Hokkaidō.
On 5th June 2024 I had a chance to look at this pond from two opposite directions:
From JR Main Line (#根室本線) on the way from Shiranuka to Ombetsu
From the bus window on the way from Ombetsu Station (音別駅) to Shoro Station (庶路駅)
Until I checked this pond in Lakes in Hokkaidō , I thought it was a marshland because of its resemblance, by my observation limited to a view from the train window, to Bekanbeushi Wetland (別寒辺牛湿原), which is upstream from Lake Akkeshi (厚岸湖) between Akkeshi station (厚岸駅) and Chanai station (茶内駅), the first wetland in Japan to be registered as a Ramsar Convention wetland, and has been photographed by many photographers as a very scenic photo spot.
According to the Ministry of the Environment, a sea relic lake is a lake that used to be a sea but has become a lake. Famous examples of sea relic lakes in Japan are Lake Saroma (サロマ湖) and Lake Hamana (浜名湖).
Pashikuru Pond is one of 66 such sea relic lakes in Hokkaidō according to Lakes in Hokkaidō :
Just comparing the area between Pashikuru Pond and Bekanbeushi Wetland, the former has 28ha while the latter 8300 ha.
Here is a beautiful picture I found in X (Twitter):
Location
Its location in Hokkaidō is the following according to the Ministry of Environment :
I visited the station on 27th Feb.2020. I will post a separate article on this signaling station.
Photos taken
Photographs taken from the train windows are not suitable for viewing…anyway here are a few photos I took:
Fortunately, there are many fabulous photos of these lakes and marshes on the Internet.…and this ↓ is a photo by Super Fantastic Kushiro Lake Akan (釧路・阿寒湖観光公式サイト.
Closing
According to the following article by Shiranuka Town, the toponym Pashikuru comes from the Ainu word for "crow", which is nothing surprising.
https://www.shiranuka-ainu.jp/ainu.html
In addition to mesmerizing toponyms of Ainu origin, Hokkaidō is known to have many lakes, ponds and wetlands.
I've ever visited other lakes in Hokkaidō such as Lake Saroma and Lake Shikotsu. I wish to write an article on this particular theme. □