Takadate-yama’s Hotoria Nature Centre and the Ramsar Site
Adjacent the Shimoike lake at the base of Takadate-yama is the Hotoria nature centre. This for the Tsuruoka City Nature Study group and make the perfect location to park your car. Here you can read up on the local flora and fauna before heading out into the mountains. Hotoria was set up in 2008 when The Shimoike and Kami’ike lakes became a Ramsar site. These lakes are one of over 2,000 Wetlands of International Importance worldwide. These lakes were formed more than 400 years ago to provide fresh water for agriculture in the surrounding regions.
In Spring, the Asian fawnlily and the Yukinosei Japanese windflower are in bloom. In early summer, you may be able to spot the narcissus or the blue-and-white flycatcher birds. This part of Tsuruoka is also famous for the more than 20,000 Mallard ducks, Tundra swans, and other migratory birds that visit here from Siberia in mid-autumn. After getting their fix from the surrounding rice fields at dusk, the birds roost in both of the lakes. The Kami’ike lake is also especially famous for its lotus flowers during Obon each year.