Fuji

When one arrives in Japan, amongst the first things you want to see is the iconic Mount Fuji (富士山). One can not think of Japan without thinking Fuji, for most of us foreigners it represents Japan!

They say that Mount Fuji is 3776m above sea level and the highest mountain in Japan, they say that it is an active Stratovolcano which last erupted in the 1700s, they say it is one of the Three Holy Mountains (三霊山) of Japan (with Mt. Tate and Mt. Haku). They even say that one third of the 126 million Japanese people can see Fuji san from their house or nearby.
Well, all that being said, I have the feeling that Mt Fuji is some sort of hoax or a myth to attract tourists to Japan … I travelled, not just once, but several times by Shinkansen, passing right next to Fuji, carefully sitting on the right side of the train to see it … I just saw a cloudy patch of sky each time. I asked “Where is Fuji san ?”, systematically got the same reply “そこにあるよ！” as they pointed their finger to a grey part of the sky. Annoyed with this, I decided to go spend a few days in Hakone region, with a “View on Fuji Room”, I had a beautiful view on grey skies.

It was time to really tackle the problem and solve the mystery once and for all !
January first, good resolutions, took a car, headed straight to Fujisan … and, well i found it, it does really exist! Let me share a few shots of that very impressive mountain.

maybe …　 maybe … yes, finally it appears !!

You can get closer, really have a good look at it, just drive up the Fuji Subaruline toll road.

It’s not a myth, Mount Fuji exists!
When the weather is clear, you can actually see it from really far away too.