Page 147 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide: Japan

CENTR AL HONSHU  145

Mount Fuji in Art VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
Mount Fuji’s graceful, almost symmetrical form, Practical Information
its changing appearance at different seasons Shizuoka & Yamanashi
and times of day, and its dominance over the prefecture. n Fuji-Yoshida
landscape have made it both a sym bol of Japan (0555) 22-7000.
and a popular subject for artists. The mountain _ Fuji-Yoshida Fire Festival
features in various series of 19th-century wood - (Aug 26 & 27).
block prints: Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849) ∑ city.fujiyoshida.yamanashi.
and Ando Hiroshige (1797–1858) both jp/div/english/html
published series called Thirty-Six Views of Mount Transport
Fuji, and Hiroshige also depicted Fuji in his Fifty- One of Hiroshige’s Thirty- £ Fuji-Yoshida, Kawaguchi-ko,
Three Stages of the Tokaido pub lished in Six Views of Mount Fuji
1833–4. It often appears in the Gotenba, Mishima (Tokaido
background of prints of Edo Shinkansen), or Fujinomiya.
@ summer only, from all stns
(Tokyo), from where, at times it
is still visible among Tokyo’s to the nearest 5th stage, also
high-rises even today. In other direct from Tokyo (Shinjuku
arts, Mount Fuji is ech oed in stn W side or Hamamatsu-cho)
decorative motifs, for instance to Kawagu chi-ko, Gotenba,
on kimonos, in wood carvings, and Lake Yama naka.
and even in the shape of Beneath the Wave off Kanagawa from
window frames. Hokusai’s Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji
Chuo Expre ssway Otsuki and Tokyo Sengen Jinja
Many Sengen shrines,
including this main one
at Fuji-Yoshida, can be
found around Fuji. The
inner sanctum of Sengen
shrines is on the crater
rim at the summit. They
• Oshino
are dedi cated to the deity
of the mountain.

Tips for Walkers
Planning: The mountain is open
for climbing only in July, August
and the first half of September.
Trails and huts can be very
• 5th crowded on weekends.
stage Tokyo Stages: The trails are divided into
10 stages. Climbers usually start
at the 5th stage. To see the
• 5th stage sunrise and avoid midday sun, it
is usual to climb by night or start
in the afternoon, sleep in a hut at
the 7th or 8th stage, and rise very
Gotenba •
early to finish the climb.
Conditions: The climb is hard work
as the steep volcanic cinder shifts
underfoot like sand. Above the 8th
stage, altitude sickness occasionally
Tomei Expressway nausea, descend at once. The sum-
strikes: if you have head ache or
mit is much colder than the base.
Key 0 kilometers 5 What to take: Sun-protection
cream, hat, sweater, raincoat,
Expressway hiking shoes, flashlight, and
Mishima 0 miles 3 emergency drink supplies; a
Other road
walking stick is useful.
Trail
For keys to symbols see back flap

144-145_EW_Japan.indd 145 08/08/16 3:06 pm