CHUZENJI, LAKE

also called Sea Of Happiness, Japanese Chuzenji-ko, or Satsu-no-umi, lake, lying within Nikko National Park, Tochigi ken (prefecture), north-central Honshu, Japan. Situated at an elevation of 4,060 feet (1,237 m), it is a resort site noted for its shrines, yachting, trout fishing, and skiing. Volcanic Mount Nantai towers to 8,169 feet (2,490 m) above the lake's northern shore; lower mountains surround most of the irregular 14-mile (23-kilometre) shoreline. Fed by small rivers in the west and northwest, the lake occupies a structural depression that has been deepened to 558 feet (170 m) by a lava obstruction at its eastern end. The Daiya River, its sole outlet, emerges from the lake in the east and drops 325 feet (99 m) over Kegon Falls. The falls have been a frequent location for suicide among Japanese youths.