Hokkaido is a haven for wildlife and nature lovers such as myself, and I have a summer cottage in Hokkaido where I have been leading Hokkaido photography workshops for over two decades.  During summer, I don’t mind leading a few Hokkaido photography workshops for summer visitors to Japan.  When I visit or lead workshops in Hokkaido, I try to add Lake Mashu (Mashuko) which is located in Lake Akan (Akanko) - Akan Mashu National Park.   Hokkaido and Lake Mashuko have a climate similar to Alaska’s, and in the winter, the mercury/temperature can easily drop to -30℃ in the Mashuko region.  During summer and into autumn, if the weather conditions are just right, I introduce participants who join me on a private Hokkaido photography tour to Lake Mashuko shrouded in fog and mist, the lake becoming a sea of clouds.  Mashuko is one of the cleanest and clearest freshwater lakes on our planet, with visibility up to 20 - 30 meters (65 - 100 ft). Lake Mashu is an endorheic crater lake that does not drain into the ocean and has steep crater walls 200m (655 ft high). There are no access roads to the lake, only hiking trails, and motorized boats are not allowed on the lake. The maximum depth of the lake is 211.5 m (694 ft).  The caldera is beautiful, as you can see from my fly over image, on this newsletter. It’s the remains of a stratovolcano, thought to be formed approximately 30,000 years ago, and it sits along the rim of the more massive Mashū caldera, which is a volcano on the rim of the even more enormous Kussharo caldera in northeastern Hokkaido.  I am hoping to make it north to Hokkaido this summer for at least two weeks, to visit Lake Mashuko and spend some quality time with friends and family sharing evenings around the campfire enjoying a barbecue.  Several of my closest friends in Hokkaido are Ainu, the First Nations people of Japan.  In the Ainu language, Lake Mashu is known as 'Kintan Kamui Toh,' which means the lake of the mountain's god. For the Japanese and many visitors, Lake Mashu has its folklore and is known as a power spot and a place of immense mystery.  I love spending time and sharing stories with my Ainu friends; their beliefs and stories are similar to the First Nations people of Canada, the Cree, the culture of my childhood.