The Clear Half of a Fuji Day

The route

• 01

  Manishprabhune / CC BY-SA 4.0

  Yamanashi · Fujiyoshida · From Shinjuku Stn · ~90 min

  Arakurayama Sengen Park

  The world's most recognised Japan photograph — pagoda, cherry blossoms, and Mount Fuji. Come before 9:00 on a clear day.

  What to look for

  • 398 stone steps (Sakuya Hime stairs) — the climb through cherry trees to the pagoda — allow about 10 minutes at a steady pace
  • Chureito Pagoda — a 19.5-metre five-storey war memorial tower built 1959–1962, dedicated to local wartime dead
  • Mount Fuji view — the unobstructed view of the 3,776-metre peak rising directly behind the pagoda to the south

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• Next stop · 5.4 km in a straight line
• 02

  Snap55 / CC BY 3.0

  Yamanashi · Fuji Five Lakes / Oshino · From Shinjuku Stn · ~2 hr

  Oshino Hakkai

  Eight glacier-clear spring ponds fed by Fuji snowmelt — all part of the Fuji UNESCO World Heritage Site.

  What to look for

  • Waku Pond (Wakuike) — the deepest and clearest of the eight, once used for pre-climb purification by Fuji pilgrims
  • Sokonashi Pond (Sokonashiike) — the 'bottomless' pond, so clear the bottom seems to disappear; the largest of the eight
  • Traditional thatched farmhouses — several old farmhouses (thatched-roof gassho style) still stand around the ponds and frame the landscape

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• Next stop · 5.7 km in a straight line
• 03

  No machine-readable author provided. Geomr~commonswiki assumed (based on copyright claims). / CC BY-SA 3.0

  Yamanashi · Fujiyoshida / Fuji Five Lakes · From Shinjuku Stn · ~110 min

  Fuji-Q Highland

  Japan's most extreme coaster park, at the foot of Mount Fuji — free gate entry, world-class rides, direct rail access from Tokyo.

  What to look for

  • Fujiyama — 79 metres tall, 2,045 metres long, top speed 130 km/h — Japan's tallest roller coaster
  • Takabisha — a 121-degree beyond-vertical drop; held the Guinness record for world's steepest roller coaster angle when it opened in 2011
  • Eejanaika — a '4th dimension' coaster with freely rotating seats and among the world's highest inversion counts

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• Next stop · 5.0 km in a straight line
• 04

  Subramaniam K V / CC BY 3.0

  Yamanashi · Fuji Five Lakes · From Shinjuku Stn · ~110 min

  Lake Kawaguchiko

  Japan's most reachable Fuji lake — the northern shore delivers the reflection view. Direct bus from Shinjuku.

  What to look for

  • Oishi Park north shore — the main lakeside promenade facing Mount Fuji, with seasonal flowers from spring to autumn
  • Mount Fuji reflection — the classic still-water mirror image of the peak, best on calm mornings
  • Kawaguchiko Music Forest — an open-air museum on the western shore with a lakeside garden

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