Akan-Mashu National Park

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Lake Akan is the only home of Japan's marimo moss balls. Akan-Mashu National Park, Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan.

Japan’s “marimo” algae balls are in rapid decline

April 21, 2025

Japan’s famous marimo are in danger. Marimo are a unique and rare plants found only in a handful of places on Earth. The near perfectly spherical green balls are a species of free-floating and rolling […]

Marimo is a type of algae found in just a handful of lakes scattered across the world. Lake Akan in Hokkaido, Japan, is one of only four places on Earth where beautifully spherical marimo still occur naturally.

Researchers in Japan scramble to save one of the world’s weirdest plants

September 5, 2023

Scientists are scrambling to solve the mystery behind the steady disappearance of one of the world’s rarest and strangest plants. Marimo is a type of algae found in just a handful of lakes scattered across […]

Public Parks

Journalism for Protected Lands and Waters

Akan-Mashu National Park

Japan’s “marimo” algae balls are in rapid decline

Researchers in Japan scramble to save one of the world’s weirdest plants