Mount Fuji: 6 of the best sights on a 2-day self-drive road trip - from waterfalls, forests and caves to shrines to the cherry blossom princess
- One of Japan’s most recognisable landmarks, Mount Fuji is considered sacred, and is dotted with shrines to the cherry blossom princess, goddess of volcanoes
- See some of these, and its natural wonders – waterfalls, lava caves and meltwater pools – on a two-day drive around the Unesco World Heritage site
The asphalt dips and twists through pine forest so thick and tall that only a ribbon of pale blue can be seen far above us. Narrow and with markings that have faded, this is a road that is less travelled.
With little warning, the road curves to the right, the trees end abruptly and we are confronted with the majestic outline of Japan’s most famous mountain. Up close, the scale of it takes one’s breath away.
Mount Fuji is as quintessentially Japanese as cherry blossom, manga and geisha, and some 25 sites of sacred, artistic or cultural importance are cited in the mountain’s 2013 listing as a Unesco World Heritage site.
They include pilgrims’ routes on the highest elevations of the mountain and places of worship within craters on the peak, traditional lodging houses and a number of Sengen-jinja shrines.
The Unesco listing also includes the natural features that can be explored by the adventurous.
Anyone considering an alternative to the bright lights of Tokyo could do worse than hiring a car for a two-day circumnavigation of a mountain that was once considered a living god. Below are some of its many highlights.