Mount Fuji, which Europeans mistakenly like to call Fuji, in Japan bears the respectful name Fuji-san.
The mountain is a sacred place for many Japanese; at its top there is a Shinto shrine, which owns quite a large part of Fuji - the territory from the level of 3350 meters to the very top of the mountain. For comparison: the state controls here only the weather station, also located at the top, and hiking trails. The government tried to win ownership for itself for as long as 17 years, but to no avail.
Also, do not forget that Fuji is an active stratovolcano, although not particularly active at present: it last erupted in 1707-1708, and this was its most powerful eruption. In total, Fuji has erupted 12 times since 781. The height of the volcano is 3776 meters, and it is the highest point in Japan. In clear weather, the volcano can be seen from a distance of up to 90 kilometers. Fuji is approximately this distance relative to Tokyo.
According to seismologists, volcanic activity in this place began many hundreds of thousands of years ago. As a result of the first eruptions, the Komitake volcano first appeared, but even before it it was turbulent. Subsequent eruptions formed the “old Fuji”, which lies at the base of the “young Fuji”, which appeared more than 10 thousand years ago. In Japanese mythology, there is a different opinion regarding the formation of Fuji: supposedly the mountain appeared from the earth thrown out from the place where in 286 BC. Lake Biwa, the largest freshwater lake in Japan, appeared. Fuji has always been considered the habitat of the gods, the gateway to the underworld, as well as one of the earth's axes.
Pilgrims and tourists still strive to climb to the top of Fuji. This opportunity exists only in the summer, when there is no snow at the top. In the Edo era, about 800 organizations throughout Japan were involved in organizing such ascents. If in the Middle Ages the mountain had to be conquered on foot, today part of the journey can be done by bus - up to the level of 2300 meters, and then you still have to walk.
In July and August, there are rescue stations and yamagoya mountain huts on the slopes of Fuji, where you can buy provisions and spend the night. On the north side up to the fifth level (2300 meters) there are also restaurants and parking.
The area surrounding the mountain is part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. The Fuji Five Lakes resort is also located here.
When asked what is the most beautiful thing in the Land of the Rising Sun, any Japanese will answer with the same word: “Fuji!”
This mountain, the highest in Japan (3776 meters), has been deified by the inhabitants of the island of Honshu since ancient times. The word Fuji itself is only half Japanese and means "Mount Fuji".
The mysterious and ancient Ainu people, who once inhabited Honshu, Hokkaido, and the Kuril Islands, gave the mountain the name of their goddess of fire, and the Japanese retained the Ainu name.
The almost perfect, slightly truncated cone of Fuji is truly very beautiful. For many centuries it has inspired poets and artists; for many hundreds of years people have been climbing the steep path to its top to pay tribute to the national shrine, which, without a doubt, is Fuji.
The great poet Basho, who lived in the 17th century, dedicated more than one poem to the sacred mountain. His haiku tercets have survived centuries, and every Japanese schoolchild can, without thinking, recite to you by heart, for example:
The clouds swelled with rain.
Just above the ridge of the foothills
Fuji turns white in the snow...
Fog and autumn rain.
But let Fuji be invisible,
How she gladdens the heart!
And the wonderful artist Hokusai, a century later, Basho immortalized his beloved mountain in a series of engravings: “36 views of Mount Fuji” and “100 views of Mount Fuji.” A reproduction of one of these prints hangs in every Japanese home.
The main religion of Japan - Shintoism - declared Fuji one of the main places of veneration and worship. Therefore, every Japanese considers it his duty to climb the sacred mountain at least once in his life.
There is a winding path to the top of Fuji with ten sites - rest stations. Pilgrims buy bamboo poles with bells at the foot of the mountain, which should help during the difficult and long climb.
At each station, the traveler will have a special mark burned on his staff as a sign that he has reached the next stage. Some, especially older Japanese, make several attempts before achieving their cherished goal.
At the very top, next to the Fuji crater, a Shinto temple was built, where monks offer prayers to the gods, simultaneously selling souvenirs to tourists and pilgrims.
Many tourists from abroad, for whom visiting the mountain is just an exotic entertainment, begin their climb immediately from the fifth station, where the road is built.
But even for them, storming the almost four-kilometer peak is a difficult test of muscle strength and fortitude.
The volcano's crater is a depression with jagged edges, 500 meters in diameter and 200 meters deep. Its slightly wavy outline resembles a lotus flower.
Eight rocky ridges, covered with snow, protrude into the crater. The people gave them the poetic name Yaksuda-Fuji ("Eight Petals of Fuji").
The upper part of the slope of the volcanic mountain is very steep (up to forty-five degrees), and below Fuji it becomes more gentle. Its base looks like a giant circle with a perimeter of 126 kilometers.
From the north, Fuji is bordered by a garland of five picturesque lakes, adding even greater beauty to the surrounding landscape. The mountain is especially beautiful in the spring, when the Japanese cherry blossoms bloom.
The pink foam of the gardens, the blue sky and water, the green of the pine trees in the lower belt of the mountain and the white snow cone of its top merge into a unique symphony of lines and colors, as if straight out of an engraving by Hokusai.
However, the volcano is beautiful at any time of the year and in any weather.
And a great artist could probably paint not a hundred, but five hundred views of Fuji - now pink in the dawn rays, now reflected in the blue bowl of the lake, now as a gray ghost peeping through the fog, now covered with a thick cap of clouds...
According to the Japanese chronicle legend, the gods created Fuji in one night in 286 BC, and in the place where they took land for the mountain, Lake Biwa was formed, the only large lake in the country, located near its ancient capital Kyoto.
In reality, the volcano is, of course, much older. Geologists estimate its age at eight to ten thousand years. But at the base of Fuji lies an older extinct volcano, sixty thousand years old, and it, in turn, grew on the site of an even more ancient volcano, three hundred thousand years old.
Being the youngest and most active of the three, Fuji regularly demonstrates his formidable temperament. Chronicles recorded eighteen eruptions of Japan's main volcano. The strongest of them were in 800, 864 and 1707. Fuji was especially raging in 1707. Then even Tokyo, located one hundred kilometers northeast of the volcano, was covered with a layer of ash fifteen centimeters thick.
Now the mighty giant is dozing, only faint wisps of smoke in the crater reminding him that his strength has not yet run out. There is snow on the slopes of its slender, slightly concave cone for ten months of the year, and even in the summer the snowfields do not melt on the northern slopes.
The ancient pilgrim path still retains its original appearance today. True, many, as already mentioned, now begin their ascent from the fifth station, from the very border of the pine forests, but even this final, most difficult stage of the ascent allows you to experience unforgettable sensations.
And although Fuji is not an object of cult for foreign guests, the difficult path to the top and the view from the top really, in some incomprehensible way, attune thoughts and feelings to a bright, solemn mood.
The mountain is often incorrectly called "Fuji". This comes from a misreading of the last character - 山 "mountain" - in its name. Standing alone, it reads yama (kun reading), but in the name of the mountain it reads san (on reading).
Fuji and its surrounding area are part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park.
Geological structure
The Japanese islands are a microcontinent (some researchers view the archipelago as an island arc, but Japan differs from them in its increased thickness and crustal area), above a subduction zone that is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. This subduction zone absorbs the oceanic crust of the Philippine and Pacific plates. Mount Fuji is located at the point where the Eurasian, Philippine and Okhotsk plates meet.
Mount Fuji is located in an area of long-term volcanic activity, on top of several ancient volcanoes. There are four stages of volcanism that formed the mountain. First, andesitic lavas flowed here, from which the Sen-Komitake volcano was formed, then they were replaced by the basaltic Komitake volcano. About 100,000 years ago, the so-called “Old Fuji” was formed. The modern mountain is called “Young Fuji” and began its growth 10-8 thousand years ago. From 8 to 4.5 thousand years ago, volcanic explosions occurred here repeatedly, and then for a whole millennium there were abundant outpourings of lava. The modern stage of the volcano's history is characterized by basaltic magmas. More than a hundred side craters and crevices opened on the slopes of the volcano. Lava flows blocked rivers and streams, the headwaters of which were located north of the volcano, in the Misaka Mountains, and this is how the Five Lakes of Fuji arose (now a popular resort destination in Japan). The last, most powerful eruption in historical time, of Fuji occurred in 1707: a new crater (Noizan) appeared on the eastern slope, and the ejected ash covered the streets of the city of Edo (present-day Tokyo). The name Neuizan is also used for a local peak on the edge of the new small crater.
Despite its complex history, the volcano has evolved into a conical mountain with similar outlines on all sides; Noisean breaks the symmetry slightly. Fuji is a typical stratovolcano.
Interesting facts about Fuji
The common idea of Mount Fuji as a peak with a snow cap, two months a year - from July to September, is not true. Unlike, for example, Mount Kilimanjaro, the snow on the top of Fuji completely melts in the indicated two months, and the mountain loses the postcard whiteness of its top during this time.
The classic contours of Mount Fuji first became famous around the world thanks to Japanese ukiyo-e prints from the Edo era. The collections of engravings “Thirty-six Views of Fuji” by Hokusai, the collection of the same name by Hiroshige, and “One Hundred Views of Fuji” by Hokusai are widely known.
Fuji is still an active Shinto shrine and on its slopes there are religious buildings of the Japanese traditional religion of Shinto.
Climbing Fuji
Mount Fuji is a popular tourist destination in Japan and abroad. From July 1 to August 27, there are rescue centers and numerous yamagoya (山小屋?, mountain hut) on the mountain, where you can buy food and drinks, as well as relax on sleeping shelves. Therefore, this period is considered the safest and most convenient for climbing. The rest of the time, the top of Fuji is covered with a thick layer of snow. Also, at the beginning of the season, some routes where there is still snow may be closed.
The mountain is divided into 10 levels, gome (Japanese: 合目?). From the 5th level, gogome, there are 4 routes to the top: Kawaguchiko, Subashiri, Gotemba and Fujinomiya. There are also routes from the foot of the mountain: Shojiko, Yoshida, Suyama and Murayama.
From Lake Kawaguchiko to the 5th level, gogome, on the northern side (2300 m) there is a Subaru Line toll highway along which regular buses run. There is a large parking lot and many restaurants. Also along the route from gogome on the Kawaguchiko side there is the largest number of yamagoya. Most tourist tours go through it. The ascent from gogome to the top along any of the routes can take from three to eight hours (not counting the rest in yamagoya), the descent - from two to five hours.
In addition to the regular routes, there are parallel routes for bulldozers. Bulldozers deliver various goods and materials to Yamagoi and shops on the mountain top, and also evacuate people who need immediate medical attention. Using these routes is extremely dangerous, since they are not reinforced and are completely unprotected from stones that can roll down from above. Despite this, cyclists have been spotted descending these routes on several occasions. However, this can be dangerous both for the cyclist, due to the high steepness and speed, and for people climbing along the nearby walking routes, due to the stones that can bounce off from under the wheels.
Approximately 200,000 people visit Fuji each year, 30% of whom are foreigners.
Ecology
Mount Fuji is a national park, so throwing away garbage is strictly prohibited, as is constantly reminded by signs placed all the way to the top. At the beginning of the climb, everyone is given a free trash bag. During the climb, when buying a bottle of water, shops allow you to throw away one empty bottle.
Toilets have also been built for travelers. These are perhaps the only toilets in Japan that charge a fee of 100 yen. These toilets operate using a dry toilet system, some even have heated seats. A number of toilets operate automatically and are powered by solar panels.
Paragliding on Fuji
Flights from the summit are possible, but not popular due to strong winds; a suitable break sometimes occurs early in the morning. Flights in the area over the Gotemba and Subashiri car parks are frequent, although sometimes hampered by strong winds and clouds. Many schools use the gentle slope between Gotemba and Subashiri for training.
The real calling card of Japan is Mount Fuji. Photos of this dormant stratovolcano adorn all tourist brochures about this country. The mountain is covered in myths and legends, sung by poets, and depicted in paintings by famous artists. What brings Fuji such fame? Maybe the fact that it is the highest peak in Japan? Most likely, in this case, the history of the mountain played a role, and not its geographical parameters. In the minds of the Japanese, Fuji is very far from its real image. Even an educated person is sure that the souls of the enlightened live in the depths of the volcano. That's why the Japanese call the mountain respectfully - Fuji-san. Its outlines form an almost perfect cone. At the top are Shinto shrines. And at the base grows the no less mythical “Forest of Suicides”. Let's try to separate truth from fiction and determine what the phenomenon of Mount Fuji is.
Dry scientific facts
As already mentioned, Fuji is the highest point in the entire Japanese archipelago, and at the same time an active stratovolcano. The peak is located less than a hundred kilometers from Tokyo. On clear days, you can even see the peak of the mountain shining with ice in the southwest. Fuji's height is 3,776 meters above sea level. This volcano belongs to the Japanese Alps mountain system. This is how the Englishman William Gowland named three ridges in the Land of the Rising Sun. He published a book for Europeans, “A Guide to Japan,” in which he compared the steep slopes of the local mountains with Alpine peaks. However, Japan's Mount Fuji is not a completely dead volcano. It last erupted in 1708, and quite powerfully. Then the streets of Edo (now Tokyo) were covered with a layer of volcanic ash 15 centimeters thick. During this eruption, the Hoei-zan crater appeared, somewhat distorting the ideal outlines of Fuji.
Story
Scientists distinguish between the old and new Fuji volcano. The first one was formed 80 thousand years ago. He was quite active. And about 20 thousand years ago, a powerful and long-lasting (several centuries) eruption occurred. As a result, lava blocked the streams and the beautiful “Five Fuji Lakes” were formed, and the old volcano completely collapsed. The new one began to grow approximately 11 thousand years ago. His activity began to be recorded in chronicles in 781. Since then, 12 eruptions have occurred. The largest, accompanied by the release of basaltic lava, were observed in 800, 864 and 1708. Mount Fuji in Japan has not lost activity even now, but is simply sleeping. The fact that this is still a volcano is evidenced by the many hot springs. But the crater (500 meters in diameter and 200 m deep) is now an absolutely safe place.
Fuji in Japanese culture
The stratovolcano has been a popular theme in folk art for centuries. This was primarily facilitated by ancient traditions and legends. It was believed that Taoist enlightened men lived on the top of the mountain, in the crater itself. The smoke on the volcano is the brewing of the drink of immortality. Poets and artists have described Fuji-san as a mountain, the top of which is bound by eternal ice. However, in reality, the snow disappears completely in July and August. Woodcuts depict the mountain as very steep and steep, with a slope of 45 degrees. It was believed that only a select few could reach the top. So, according to legend, Prince Shogoku made such an ascent. However, views of Mount Fuji, photographed from different angles, show us rather gentle slopes. Despite the fact that the volcano has erupted several times, there is not a single painting in fine art that represents Fuji as raging. Probably because in Japan, even a volcano is not allowed to show one’s feelings.
World Tourism Site
Mount Fuji in Japan became famous outside the country thanks to Edo era engravings. Woodcuts by Hokusai and Hiroshige, depicting a magical peak rising high above a layer of clouds, captured the imagination of Europeans. About two hundred thousand people climb to the top every year. And this despite the fact that climbing is allowed for only two months - from July 1 to the end of August. But tourist expeditions are not the main suppliers of visitors to the volcano crater. The share of foreigners among those who climb the mountain is only 30%. The main purpose of climbing to the top is religious pilgrimage. At the top of Mount Fuji, right at the edge of the crater, is the Shinto shrine Sengen Jinja. The monks are accompanied by meteorologists, whose station is located nearby, and... postal employees. Sending a postcard to your loved ones directly from the top of a sacred mountain is considered a good sign in Japan.
World fame
In June 2013, Fuji was included in the UNESCO list. It is noteworthy that it was included in this respectable list not as an interesting natural phenomenon, but as an object of cultural heritage. This is a tribute to the fact that for many centuries the volcano has inspired artists and poets to create. Therefore, officially the UNESCO list includes: “Mount Fuji. An inexhaustible source of inspiration and an object of religious worship." In addition, the volcano and its surroundings are part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Nature Park. And the five lakes - Sai, Shojin, Motosu, Yamanaka and Kawaguchi - are a resort where Tokyo residents like to relax.
Climbing Fuji
During the season open to mountain tourism, there are numerous rescue centers, shops and yamagoya - tourist shelters where you can spend the night - on the slopes of the mountain. Fuji is divided into ten levels (gome). The fifth can be reached by bus, although there are official routes directly from the base of the volcano. The largest number of yamagoya, restaurants and other tourist infrastructure is observed on the northern slope. Along the way you will also come across dry closets. They even have a solar-heated toilet seat (this is Japan!). Fuji requires a significant amount of effort from summit conquerors. Eight hours for the ascent and five for the descent, and this does not count the time for rests and overnight stays. And if you climb from the fifth level, then you can do it in one three hours up and two down.
Necessary caution
Not far from the top you can see gliders soaring. Such flights are, in principle, dangerous, since Mount Fuji is “famous” for gusty winds and fog. Also, some tourists mistake the wide ruts leading up the slope for hiking trails. In fact, these dangerous routes are intended for bulldozers that deliver provisions to Yamagoya and carry down injured tourists. Walking along such a road, despite the apparent straightness of the route, is dangerous. It is not compacted, and the stones can injure not only you, but also travelers walking along the hiking trails. Throwing trash along the entire route is prohibited. The shops on the slopes will only sell you water in exchange for an empty bottle.
Why do they climb to the top of a volcano?
Despite the fact that you can ascend and descend from the top of Fuji in one daylight, many tourists prefer to spend the night at the tenth, highest station, in a small hut. What makes them brave the cold and dine on curry noodles (three times the price of the restaurant downstairs) next to an oil oven? The fact is that Mount Fuji is famous for its sunrises. That’s why all tourists leave their sleeping bags at four o’clock in the morning and rush with flashlights to the edge of the volcano to greet the sun. But even if you reach the summit during the day with the intention of returning home after dark, you are in for an unforgettable experience. The crater of the mountain resembles a Martian landscape. The entire surface of the peak is covered with dark stone fragments. A weather station and sacred altars complete the strange picture.
Mount Fuji in Japan: Suicide Forest
Jukai is no less popular. Translated from Japanese it means “Sea of Trees”. During the last eruption, the lava did not affect a small, approximately 35 square kilometer, patch of forest at the foot of the mountain. Since then, the trees have grown so much that they have formed a dense tent of crowns and thickets of boxwood. They say that in the past, poor families brought old people and children to this forest, whom they could not feed. And according to Japanese beliefs, the souls of those who died a painful death remain in this world to take revenge on the living. And the forest near Mount Fuji became an object of pilgrimage for suicidal individuals. Rejected lovers, people who have lost the meaning in life, office plankton burnt out at work with no prospect of promotion - everyone rushes to Jukai. The number of bodies found alone ranges from 70 to one hundred annually. Only San Francisco surpassed Zukai in terms of the number of suicides.
Climbing Mount Fuji
Most begin the climb at Lake Kawaguchi, in the resort area north of the mountain, after about a two-hour train ride from Tokyo. The official climbing season runs from July 1 to August 27, but the mountain shelters at all ten stations along the various climbing routes are open from April to mid-November. Climbing the mountain “out of season” (especially in wet weather) not recommended, but people do it anytime.
From Kawaguchi you will take a local bus to Go-gome ("Fifth Station") on the northern slope, from where you can begin the five-hour climb to the top. You can also get here directly from Tokyo by bus from Shinjuku Bus Station; Travel time is about 2.5 hours. If you are coming from Kyoto or Osaka, a train or bus will take you to the Fujino-miya route, which runs along the southern slope.
Real pilgrims begin their climb around midnight, reaching the top by sunrise. The trail is well marked, and therefore there is no risk of getting lost. In addition, getting up at night allows you to do without spending the night in one of the shelters with shared dormitories (the conditions are, to be honest, terrible). You can stop to rest at the seventh or eighth station. Bring warm clothes with you, wear comfortable shoes, a hat and gloves. At the top you can only buy snacks from vending machines, so it’s worth stocking up on provisions, and most importantly, a thermos of coffee or tea.
In one respect, Fuji is like any other mountain - going down is much easier than going up. More adventurous climbers can make their way back along the volcanic sand-strewn descent to Shin-Go-gome ("New Fifth Station"). You simply straddle your backpack or piece of cardboard and slide down. From Shin-Go-gome, the bus will take you to the town of Gotemba, where you can change to another transport.
Neighborhoods of Fuji
Don't limit your visit to these places to just the mountain. The five lakes of Fuji, arching around the foot of the mountain from the north, offer excellent fishing, boating and hiking. The largest is Yamanaka-ko. Kawaguchi-ko is the most popular, probably due to the presence of excursion boats plying along the northern shore, from which in calm and clear weather you can admire the perfect mirror image of Fuji in the water. Sai-ko has the best trout fishing, and Shoji-ko is the smallest, most beautiful and relatively undeveloped by man. Motosu-ko is the most transparent and deep.
Between Sai-ko and Shoji-ko lies the dense and mysterious Jukai Forest. ("Sea of Trees"), notable for being easier to get into than to get out of. Volcanic rock makes a magnetic compass completely useless. Many commit fornication here, some deliberately: the eerie Jukai is a perennial favorite among suicide bombers, and local authorities annually comb the forest in search of bodies that would otherwise never be found. Just south of Motosu-ko, the sparkling 26m Shiraito Falls are a much nicer spot for a picnic.
