[1] Local Shinto tradition holds that the ridges are formed by the gods crossing the lake when traveling between the various buildings of the Suwa Grand Shrine.

Folklore says it is the guardian god of Suwa, Takeminakata-no-kami, leaving his sanctuary to meet with his wife, the goddess Yasakatome, joining the opposite bank by walking on frozen water.

This record has been used by scientists to study the impact of sunspots, human development and anthropogenic CO2 emissions on lake ice formation.

Hokusai included Lake Suwa in his famous Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) series of woodblock prints.

In 2020, in advance of the scheduled Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, a new rowing boathouse and training facility was established in Shimosuwa.