Photo/Illutration Okunosu island has become connected with the lakeshore as the water levels have dropped in Lake Biwako in Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture, on Dec. 6. (Toshiyuki Hayashi)

NAGAHAMA, Shiga Prefecture--In the midst of an ongoing drought, a small island in Lake Biwako here has taken on the slight resemblance of France’s Mont Saint-Michel.

The lake has been called the “water jug of the Kinki region,” as an invaluable reservoir supplying water to a vast area of western Japan.

But the water levels of Japan’s largest freshwater lake continue to drop due to low rainfall.

In Nagahama, a city in the northern part of Shiga Prefecture, a small island called Okunosu that usually can be seen near the shores of the lake has become a peninsula due to the low water levels.

The rare sight has created a stir, with some saying it resembles the famed French monastery and UNESCO World Heritage site Mont Saint-Michel.

The land ministry’s Lake Biwako office of river announced that the average water level at 6 a.m. on Dec. 6 was minus 70 centimeters, just 5 cm short of the standard required for the prefectural government to set up a drought task force.

Precipitation in Otsu in the prefecture from July to November this year was about 30 percent less than a normal year due to the continuation of favorable weather conditions this year, including fewer typhoons making landfall. 

According to the Kohoku Wild Birds Center in Nagahama, the small island is a habitat for birds.

During the summer, when the water level rises, the shallows between the lakeshore and the island are about one meter deep.

To protect the reed colonies in the lakeshore wetlands, the prefectural government has adopted an ordinance.

The center is also urging people to not walk through the wetlands unnecessarily to avoid breaking reeds or trampling on buds.

Outside of Lake Biwako, droughts due to low rainfall continue, particularly in western Japan, as water draws are being restricted due to low water levels at dams.

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