It’s weird for most that even though I have been to Japan several times, I have never seen Mt. Fuji yet. The truth is, I have tried to see the great mountain on my very first visit (from Hakone), but he didn’t show up. They said that Mt. Fuji is a shy mountain, showing itself in only 100 days a year. Today, we were lucky to have seen the big guy in all its splendor!

1-Day World Heritage Mt. Fuji Golden Tour

I recommend this tour for those who want to see Mount Fuji on a one-day trip from Tokyo. This tour allows you to see Mount Fuji from different sides as you visit different places surrounding the volcano, including on the volcano itself (up until the 5th station, depending on the weather conditions). Going up Mt. Fuji can be challenging – we attempted this three times due to the long queue of tourists/buses, so our guide Michiko-san, helped rearrange our itinerary so that we don’t waste our time waiting.

I sat beside a group of Filipino tourists during this tour, so I didn’t really feel alone! We helped take each others photos, which is a good thing for me, because finally, I get to have decent photos for a change!

Fujisan World Heritage Center

This stop is not part of the official itinerary, but we did a quick stop-by for restroom break. I bought hot coffee from the vending machine because I only slept 5 hours. I woke up at 6 in order to get to the tour meeting place (Keio Hotel in Shinjuku) at around 7:30 am. It was also still quite cold in the area!

We headed to our supposedly first stop of the day, the 5th station of Mt. Fuji after this stop. Our tour guide received a call that the 5th station is closed due to snow, so the highest we could ascend for today is the 4th station (difference of around 200 meters vs. the 5th station).

Oshino Hakkai (8 Ponds)

Because of the long queue at Mt. Fuji 4th Station (30 minute queue), we started at Oshino Hakkai instead. This place is located at the foot of Mt. Fuji and features 8 ponds that were created from the melted snow seeping into Mt. Fuji, and coming back out of the ground. Most of the ponds have really clear water, but some are already murky (I’m not so sure why).  These ponds are considered national treasures, so you’re not supposed to throw coins or anything into them – BUT some tourists do, so you’ll find coins sparkling at the bottom of the clear pond, which is quite disheartening. Signs are already put up to stop people from throwing coins as these are not wishing wells!

There are also souvenir shops and food stalls in the area. Our tour guide recommended a specific stall that sells grilled mochi filled with azuki red beans – and it was so good!

 

I also tried the dango/dumplings – which was good, too! Both mochi and dango are for 100 yen a piece.

We headed back to Mt. Fuji 4th Station but to our surprise, the queue just got longer and we had to wait another hour to get in. Our tour decided to put this as our last stop instead and headed to our next stop which is an hour away. We had our bento lunches on the bus to save on time!

Shiraito Falls

Our next stop is a famous waterfall in Japan called Shiraito Falls (translated as White String Falls). It’s an hour drive from the 8 Ponds, so we stopped over for restroom break and quick photoshoot at a roadside resting area.

Shiraito falls is called as such is because the water falling from the top look like white strings. There are several small “falls” which look more like thin drops of water instead of one big waterfall.

You can’t swim in here, so it’s really basically just for sight-seeing. The water, similar to the 8 ponds, are from the rain/snow that fall on Mt. Fuji and have been filtered naturally by lava and soil.

There are souvenir shops, a soba restaurant, and coffee shops at the top. You need to descend a flight of stairs to get to the waterfalls so take it slow going back up as it can be a bit tiring!

There’s also another waterfall that you can view prior to Shiraito (near the souvenir shops). I forgot the name of this one, but it’s bigger and stronger compared to Shiraito.

Fujisan Hongu Sengen Taisha Shrine

Mt. Fuji is considered as a diety/God to some Japanese people and because of this, there are shrines built to worship Mt. Fuji. This shrine is the first shrine to be built for this purpose (considered the main shrine). On the way to the Shrine, we stopped by Mt. Fuji World Heritage Center (different from the above Fujisan World Heritage Center) for a quick photo opportunity. This building has a unique architecture, based on Mt. Fuji’s reflection on one of its surrounding lakes. So basically, it’s an upside-down Mt. Fuji.

Fujisan Hongu Sengen Taisha is surrounded by Sakura, and lucky for us, the trees are in full bloom this week. The white/pink sakura flowers with the bright red/orange color of the shrine is perfect for photography. Please be ready for photo-bombardment in 3…2…1.

Mt. Fuji 4th Station

On the way back to Mt. Fuji, I fell asleep for around 30 minutes, and when I woke up to see Mt. Fuji again, I was snapping pictures like crazy from inside the bus.

After all of these attempts, I finally got one that’s for the books! I will have to do some postprocessing to make this pop – but for now, here’s my best/cleanest shot of Mt. Fuji!

Finally, we arrived back at the entrace to the 4th station, and we were allowed to go in. To be honest, this was a bit underwhelming as we have seen great images of Mt. Fuji already throughout the day (from the rest stops, and even from the bus).

 

From the 4th station, you get to see Mt. Fuji’s snow-covered peak, but as you are on Mt. Fuji itself, it doesn’t look as photogenic as when you look at it from afar. Still, it is an experience to be actually on Mt. Fuji and clearly see its peak (we were also lucky that it wasn’t foggy that day, as it usually is according to our guide).

On the way home, our guide showed us a documentary DVD on Mt. Fuji’s religious and artistic value for the Japanese people. I’ve learned a lot about how important Mt. Fuji is to Japan, not just as a significant landmark, but deeper than that – as it has impacted the Japanese both on a spiritual and cultural level ever since the beginning of time! From just an amazing scenery, I ended the tour also with a deep respect for the mountain, which helped shape the land I adore and love so much!

Fujisan, arigatou!