Mirage of Nemuro, Hokkaido

A mirage of the frozen Lake Furen in Nemuro, Hokkaido on January 12, 2013, Japan. Photo: January 12, 2013 Location: Kawaguchi, Nemuro, Hokkaido Photo: In winter, a temperature structure of upper warming and lower cooling sometimes occurs due to radiative cooling at the frozen Lake Furen in Hokkaido. Early in the morning, when the temperature was below 20 degrees Celsius and there was no wind, several layers of different densities appeared, and a spectacular upper mirage was observed, with the Shiretoko mountain range stretching up and overlapping the buildings in the Shikotan district of Betsukai Town, about 8 km away on the other side of the lake. The lower mirage was also seen on the lower side of the real image, and while the upper mirage alone is a rare phenomenon, it is even rarer to see both mirages at the same time. The time of appearance is from around sunrise until the wind begins to blow, which is about two hours. When there is no wind or light wind, mirages may appear until close to noon.