Mount Fuji : JAPAN
Mount Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan at 3,776 meters, and has an exceptionally symmetrical cone. A dormant volcano that last erupted in 1707, it is surrounded by five lakes: Lake Kawaguchi, Lake Yamanaka, Lake Sai, Lake Motosu and Lake Shoji. It is part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. Scientists have identified four distinct phases of volcanic activity in the formation of Mt. Fuji. The first phase, called Sen-komitake, is composed of an andesite core recently discovered deep within the mountain. Sen-komitake was followed by the "Komitake Fuji," a basalt layer believed to be formed several hundred thousand years ago. Approximately 100,000 years ago, "Old Fuji" was formed over the top of Komitake Fuji. The modern, "New Fuji" is believed to have formed over the top of Old Fuji around 10,000 years ago. The volcano is currently classified as active with a low risk of eruption. The last recorded eruption started on December 16, 1707 (Hōei 4, 23rd day of the 11th month) and ended about January 1, 1708 (Hōei 4, 9th day of the 12th month) during the Edo period.[7] This is sometimes called "the great Hōei eruption." Fuji spewed cinders and ash which fell like rain in Izu, Kai, Sagami, and Musashi. Since then, there have been no signs of an eruption. At this time, a new crater, along with a second peak, named Hōei-zan after the era name, formed halfway down its side. Mount Fuji is located at the point where the Eurasian Plate (or the Amurian Plate), the Okhotsk Plate, and the Philippine Plate meet. Those plates form the western part of Japan, the eastern part of Japan, and the Izu Peninsula respectively.
Mount Fuji (Fujisan) is with 3776 meters 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. If you want to enjoy Mount Fuji at a more leisurely pace and from a nice natural surrounding, you should head to the Fuji Five Lake (Fujigoko) region at the northern foot of the mountain, or to Hakone, a nearby hot spring resort. Mount Fuji is officially open for climbing during July and August via several routes.
In 1867 it was climbed by Lady Parkes, wife of the British Minister. All the guidebooks tell me this but fail to provide details. I would love to know the reaction of the priests for example. Did she meet any resistance? I am filled with admiration for this lady who boldly resisted the edicts of centuries to claim this summit. For despite the proverb and the dismal descriptions in our guidebooks this peak is a must for any serious hill walker who visits Japan. There are many claimants for titles like 'the most climbed mountain in the world', 'the most photographed mountain in the world', 'the most widely recognized mountain in the world' and so forth. Any one of these might be claimed for Fuji but the most likely one to be true is 'the most drawn mountain in the world'. Pictures of the peak abound and are instantly recognized. Put some Japanese script at the side and a completely symmetrical cone passes for this mountain without question. In fact the symmetry is far from perfect as even a cursory glance at the real thing will illustrate. On the northeast side is a subsidiary crater formed by the most recent eruption in 1707 while the summit crater has a rim which is significantly higher on the south and more broken to the west. We visited Japan in late September. When we asked at the tourist office in Tokyo about climbing Mount Fuji we got a simple answer. 'You can't do it, it's closed'. In a sense this was literally true because all the facilities on the mountain are open exactly for the months of July and August only. This is the time when apparently thousands climb every day and also every night since viewing sunrise from the summit is considered the best thing to do. In one way we regretted not climbing at this time which would no doubt have given us a more unusual and uniquely Japanese experience. In other ways we were relieved to avoid the reputed queues on the track which would not have been our idea of how a mountain should be.
