Lake Shinji

Lake Shinji
View from Matsue Castle
Lake Shinji
Location	Shimane Prefecture
Coordinates	35°27′N 132°58′E / 35.450°N 132.967°E / 35.450; 132.967
Type	Brackish
Basin countries	Japan
Ramsar Wetland
Official name	Shinji-ko
Designated	8 November 2005
Reference no.	1556[1]

Lake Shinji (宍道湖, Shinji-ko) is a lake in the northeast area of the Shimane Prefecture in Japan. The lake is the seventh largest in Japan, with a circumference of 48 kilometres (30 mi). It is enclosed by the Shimane Peninsula to the north, and the Izumo and Matsue plains to the west and east respectively. 7,652 ha (18,910 acres) of wetland are a Ramsar Site.^[2]

Lake Shinji offers an economic benefit to nearby residents in the form of active fisheries and mild tourism opportunities, such as the various hot spring resorts built along the lake's coast and sunset cruises offered by local companies.

Lake Shinji is connected to the Sea of Japan via Nakaumi Lagoon, and as a result is made up of brackish water of good quality, which adds to the abundance of aquatic life, such as whitebait, eel, sea bass, and the most famous Lake Shinji delicacy, the Shijimi clam (Corbicula japonica). The Shijimi shellfish is caught using a 'joren', a tool unique to Lake Shinji, which is made up of a basket tethered to a rake. The shellfish is often referred to as one of the 'Shiji-ko Shitchin', the 'Seven Delicacies of Lake Shinji.'

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