Visible on a clear day from Japan's capital city Tokyo, Mount Fuji is the country’s highest mountain. Soaring at an impressive 3,776 m (12,388 ft) high this active volcan...
Visible on a clear day from Japan's capital city Tokyo, Mount Fuji is the country’s highest mountain. Soaring at an impressive 3,776 m (12,388 ft) high this active volcano is situated on Honshu Island and is a near-perfect cone shape, featuring a snow capped summit for some months of the year. The crater at the top of Mount Fuji is 500 m (~1,640 ft) wide and 250 m (~8...
Visible on a clear day from Japan's capital city Tokyo, Mount Fuji is the country’s highest mountain. Soaring at an impressive 3,776 m (12,388 ft) high this active volcano is situated on Honshu Island and is a near-perfect cone shape, featuring a snow capped summit for some months of the year. The crater at the top of Mount Fuji is 500 m (~1,640 ft) wide and 250 m (~820 ft) deep.
As you ascend Mount Fuji, temperatures plummet, and the average temperature at the summit itself is almost always below freezing. On average, there is a 22°C (~72°F) difference between ground level and the peak.
Thousands of Japanese people climb the mountain every year to reach a shrine at its peak, along with the many climbers from all over the world. The favoured climbing season is short - only two months from July to August. Very few people ascend the mountain from its foot to the summit. More usually, buses take climbers to the fifth station and then they walk the Kawaguchiko route to the summit which takes approximately three to eight hours, with the descent taking between two to five hours. This is the most popular route although there are three others from the fifth station and four more from the foot of the mountain.
Not all visitors will want to climb the mountain and a particularly good way to view it is from the train on the Tokaido line that runs between Tokyo and Osaka. Paragliding from the fifth station is popular for the adventurous.
Ascending the mountain between October and May is actively discouraged due to the severe weather conditions.
Mount Fuji is iconic in Japan for its almost perfectly symmetrical cone and is a frequent subject for art and photography.