MOUNT FUJI AREA 

Tourist Tips:

Mount Fuji stands at 12,388 feet high and is surrounded by five lakes: Lake Kawaguchi, Lake Yamanaka, Lake Sai, Lake Motosu and Lake Shoji. They, and nearby Lake Ashi, provide excellent views of the mountain.

It is part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. It is also an active stratovolcano.

Fujiyoshida is the largest city on the North Slope of Mount Fuji and features access to historical sites, amusement parks, hot springs, access to hiking and camping in the Fuji Five Lakes system, and is the traditional Northern gateway to climbing Mount Fuji.

If climbing Japan's highest mountain is not for you, or if your visit to the area falls outside the climbing season, plenty of other attractions await you on the Shizuoka side of Mt. Fuji.

From Asagiri Heights there are splendid views of Mt. Fuji. Visit, too, Shiraito Falls, whose waters cascade from a height of 20 metres and look like white thread. For camping and fishing, Lake Higashiyama on the southern outskirts of the city of Gotemba is an excellent choice, while Lake Tanuki is another pleasant setting for boating, hiking, cycling and camping with a view of Mt. Fuji in the background.

Peace Park Gotemba:

Only a five-minute drive from Gotemba Interchange on the Tomei Express-way it is a popular tourist sight all through the year. You can take a walk to the white Indian pagoda set on the hill. This elegant temple has some Buddha relics, which were presented by the first prime minister of India.

Nagao Pass:

Located on the border of Shizuoka and Kanagawa prefectures, you can enjoy the breathtaking views of the Mt. Fuji and Mt. Ashitaka ridge and the entire city of Gotemba below. On a clear day, you can also see the far-away Suruga Bay. In fall, all the mountains are spectacularly ablaze with a golden carpet of pampas grass.

Otome Pass:

Situated on a popular hiking track 1,000 metres above sea level and on the ridge of Mt. Hakone, it is one of the top three locations for viewing Mount Fuji. This pass has many legends and folklore, which have been told since ancient times.

Komakado Caves:

Assigned as a Natural Monument, the Komakado cave is one of the biggest well-preserved lava caves in Japan. The total area is 7.542 square kilometres. It is divided into a main cave and one auxiliary cave each with a length of 291 metres and 110 metres respectively. A clear ribbed trace, made by the lava flow, along the ceiling can be sighted. 

Other suggestions for sightseeing:

• Mount Fuji Visitors Centre
• Chureito Peace Pagoda- Built on a hilltop facing Mount Fuji, Chureito offers an excellent view of the mountain and is a popular place to take photographs.
• Gotemba Municipal Hot Spring Resort
• Shiraito Falls
• The Literary Museum For Yasushi Inoue
  

Mount Fuji:

Japan's highest mountain is a perfectly symmetrical volcanic cone which last blew its top in 1707.

Mount Fuji (Fujisan) is with 3776 metres Japan's highest mountain. It is not surprising that the nearly perfectly shaped volcano has been worshipped as a sacred mountain and experienced big popularity among artists and common people.

Mount Fuji is a dormant volcano, which most recently erupted in 1708. It stands on the border between Yamanashi and Shizuoka Prefectures and can be seen from Tokyo and Yokohama on clear days.

The easiest way to view Mount Fuji is from the train on a trip along the Tokaido Line between Tokyo and Osaka. If you take the shinkansen from Tokyo in direction of Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka, the best view of Mount Fuji can be enjoyed from around Shin-Fuji Station on the right hand side of the train, about 40 to 45 minutes after leaving Tokyo.

Note however, that clouds and poor visibility often block the view of Mount Fuji, and you have to consider yourself lucky if you get a clear view of the mountain. Visibility tends to be better during the colder seasons of the year than in summer, and in the early morning and late evening hours.

Kyoto:

If you only have a few days to spend in Japan, spend them in Kyoto. Admittedly, the first impression you get as you leave Kyoto station is that this is just another concrete jungle. But dotted around the city are some 1,600 temples, 250 shrines, 60 gardens, 24 museums, 2 Imperial villas and some of the best photo opportunities that Japan has to offer.

Many of the temples were founded over a thousand years ago but have been destroyed by earthquakes, fires and wars, only to be rebuilt time and time again. Due to its historical importance, the city was spared from bombing attacks during World War II. Kyoto can be roughly divided into five areas: Rakuhoku (north), Rakusei (west), Rakuchu (central), Rakuto/Higashiyama (east) and Rakunan (south).

Osaka:

With a population of 2.5 million, Osaka is Japan's third largest and second most important city. It has been the economic powerhouse of the Kansai region for many centuries.

Osaka was formerly known as Naniwa. Before the Nara Period, when the capital used to be moved with the reign of each new emperor, Naniwa was once Japan's capital city, the first one ever known.

In the 16th century, Toyotomi Hideyoshi chose Osaka as the location for his castle, and the city may have become Japan's capital if Tokugawa Ieyasu had not terminated the Toyotomi lineage after Hideyoshi's death and moved his government to distant Edo (Tokyo).

Worthy attractions in the city include:

• Osaka Castle
• Osaka Aquarium
• Umeda Sky Building
• National Bunraku Theatre
• Peace Osaka (ww II museum)
• Sumiyoshi Taisha (Osaka's most prominent shrine)
• Minami Famous entertainment and shopping district

Okinawa Island:

Okinawa Prefecture is Japan's southernmost prefecture, and consists of hundreds of islands known as The Ryukyu Islands, in an island chain over 1,000 km long, which extends southwest from Kyushu (the southwesternmost of Japan's main four islands) to Taiwan, although the northern islands in the chain are part of Kagoshima Prefecture.

Okinawa's capital, Naha, is located in the southern part of the largest and most populous island, Okinawa Honto, which is approximately half-way between Kyushu and Taiwan.

The island has many places of historical interest as well as its natural beauty, coral reefs and white-sand beaches. There are remnants of castles from the days of the Ryukyu kingdom, which was ruled from Naha for 400 years, although most were destroyed during the war. The prefectural capital of Naha is in the south, and is the business and transport hub of the region. Naminoue shrine is located on the site of one of the old castles.

Tokyo:

It’s crowded and expensive – but it’s also one of the most exciting places on earth.  Tokyo is a city where deep seated Eastern culture meets up to the minute Western style modernity, and it creates an interesting mix.

The main gateway is Narita Airport, but it’s a way into the city and taxis are expensive and time consuming.  The best option to get to downtown is by limousine bus (about a tenth of the price of a taxi),  which run every ten to fifteen minutes between Narita and the Tokyo City Air Terminal (TCAT) as well as a number of the major hotels. 

Alternatively you can take the Narita Express, operated by Japan Railways, which makes the trip into Tokyo station in an hour.  Nearly everything of interest lies either on or within the JR Yamanote line, the rail loop that circles central Tokyo.

The subway is an efficient and convenient way to travel around the city centre, with colour coded services and bilingual signs that make it relatively easy to navigate.  Head for the Ginza for some of the best shopping you will have come across anywhere. It’s a glitzy district attracting affluent Japanese and tourists alike, offering expensive nightclubs and some of the biggest and best department stores in Tokyo.

Other sightseeing suggestions for a whistle-stop visit:

• Mitsukoshi
• Takashimaya
• Tobu Emporium
• Shinjuku
• Roppongi
• Tokyo Tower
• Imperial Palace
• Oriental Bazaar
• Sumo Museum
• Sony Building
• National Museum of Modern Art
• Shinjuku Gyoen Park
• Tokyo Disney Resort
• Toshogu Shrine
• Yoyogi Park

The city is well known for its technological goods, especially if you want the latest models before release in the West, and jewellery gifts such as pearls which are native to Japan.

There are no fewer than 80,000 restaurants in Tokyo, including the hotel restaurants, but be prepared for high prices, and an all night party atmosphere in the traditional night life areas.

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