LITMIR.BIZ

      Maybe it’s the way Fuji-san dominates the vista as she straddles the prefectures of Yamanashi and Shizuoka. At 3,776 meters (12,388 feet), she is comfortably the nation’s tallest peak, and with no other mountains nearby, Fuji-san stands fully visible from sprawling base to narrowing peak. Her influence on Japan has been profound. The peak has inspired countless artists and integrated herself into both Shinto and Buddhist traditions. The legendary ukiyo-e woodblock printmaker Hokusai (1760–1849) was so smitten that he dedicated much of his work to capturing Fuji’s changing moods. His woodblock series, 36 Views of Mount Fuji, includes the celebrated Great Wave Off Kanagawa, whose snow-capped Fuji in the distance and giant foaming wave menacingly poised to break in the foreground is recognizable to anyone with a passing interest in Japan.

      In Shintoism, the peak of the now dormant volcano is home to a fire god and, despite its naked lunarscape, a goddess of trees. In Buddhism, Fuji is home to Dainichi Nyorai, the Buddha of All-Illuminating Wisdom. Consequently, pilgrims have journeyed to Fuji’s peak for spiritual enlightenment for centuries. Fuji-san’s symbolic power was reputedly even recognized by the Allied authorities in World War II. According to one tale, they planned to bomb Fuji’s white cap with blood red paint in order to break the Japanese spirit.

      The best way to enjoy Fuji-san up close is to visit the Hakone area (page 39), a popular weekend retreat for Tokyoites because of its natural hot springs, fine inns, mountain vistas and an array of other attractions, including the brilliant Hakone Open Air Museum (page 107) and the volcanic Owakudani Valley with its steaming sulfur vents and hot springs.

      If you want a really close look at Fuji, you can even climb it in the summer months, although it is a long challenging hike. However, you don’t need to venture out of Tokyo to get a good view. On a clear day, head up to the free observation deck on the 45th floor of Tokyo Metropolitan Government building in Shinjuku (page 34) and Fuji-san reveals all her wonder.

      Getting There The Hakone area is served by Hakone-Yumoto Station, which can be reached on the Odakyu Line from Shinjuku Station in Tokyo in 80 minutes. Contact Hakone Town Tourist Association: hakone.or.jp/english

7 Traditional Houses of Shirakawa-go

      Head back in time to the villages of the Hida Highlands

      Seeing Ogimachi village for the first time, it’s easy to imagine you are looking upon a scene unchanged for centuries. The village is one of several in the Shirakawa-go region in the Hida Highlands (page 46) that is still dominated by towering thatched farmhouses that blend with a carpet of lush green rice paddies and a backdrop of dense forest to create a scene that could be straight from a Brothers’ Grimm tale. There’s good reason these villages have barely changed over the centuries. Less than a hundred years ago, the densely forested valleys here were among the most secluded in Japan. Heavy snowfall and a lack of road connections left the area’s villages cut off from modernization.