Mount Fuji & Kawaguchiko Lake (Lake Kawaguchi), Japan
Let’s go to Kawaguchiko, the most popular lakeside viewing spot for Mount Fuj.
It’s an easy day trip from Tokyo and must-visit for any traveller.
Places visited:
Lake Kawaguchi
Shiraito falls
Arakura Temple
Mount Fuji (富士山), located on the island of Honshū, is the highest mountain in Japan, standing 3,776.24 m. It is the second-highest volcano located on an island in Asia (after Mount Kerinci on the island of Sumatra), and seventh-highest peak of an island on Earth. Mount Fuji is an active stratovolcano that last erupted from 1707 to 1708. The mountain stands about 100 km southwest of Tokyo and is visible from there on clear days. Mount Fuji’s exceptionally symmetrical cone, which is snow-capped for about five months of the year, is commonly used as a cultural icon of Japan and it is frequently depicted in art and photography, as well as visited by sightseers and climbers.
Mount Fuji is one of Japan’s “Three Holy Mountains” along with Mount Tate and Mount Haku. It is a Special Place of Scenic Beauty and one of Japan’s Historic Sites. It was added to the World Heritage List as a Cultural Site on June 22, 2013. According to UNESCO, Mount Fuji has “inspired artists and poets and been the object of pilgrimage for centuries”. UNESCO recognizes 25 sites of cultural interest within the Mount Fuji locality. These 25 locations include the mountain and the Shinto shrine, Fujisan Hongū Sengen Taisha, as well as the Buddhist Taisekiji Head Temple founded in 1290, later depicted by Japanese ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai.
Lake Kawaguchi (河口湖) is located in the border of the towns of Fujikawaguchiko and Minobu in southern Yamanashi Prefecture near Mount Fuji, Japan. It is the second largest of the Fuji Five Lakes in terms of surface area, and is located at the lowest elevation. It is situated at an altitude of approximately 800 metres, which accounts for its relatively cool summers and frequently icy winters. It also has the longest shoreline of any of the Fuji Five Lakes.
The lake is within the borders of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park.
The lake has no natural outlet, and flooding of settlements on its shores was a problem until the construction of a canal, completed in 1914, to connect it to a tributary of the Sagami River.
As with the other Fuji Five Lakes, the area is a popular resort, with many lakeside hotels, windsurfing facilities, camp sites, and excursion boats. Japanese crucian carp and wakasagi were introduced to the lake in the Meiji period, and sports fishing is also popular. Lake Kawaguchi is the most popular of the Fuji Five Lakes in terms of tourists, and has the most developed tourist infrastructure.[citation needed] The area also serves as a major hub for those wishing to climb Mount Fuji during the climbing season (July and August), and is also popular with photographers due to the panoramic views of the mountain from the shore.
In 2013 the lake was added to the World Heritage List as part of the Fujisan Cultural Site.
Video Source: Mt. Fuji | Kawaguchiko Lake | Cinematic Vlog from Japan Weekender on Youtube ⁄ CC BY
