Will you dare to climb Mt. Fuji?

Mt. Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan. This enourmous mountain has many panoramic, breath-taking scenes. It is constantly changing shape due to the volcanic activities that take place underneath it’s surface. Mt. Fuji is not only beautiful from the outlook but also gives unforgetable experiences when you actually climb up it.

Mt. Fuji has become a Japanese symbol and has been loved by many world-famous artists including Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890). Le Père Tanguy (1887) is one example drawn by Gogh. Mt. Fuji is not merely a mountain but can be recognized as art itself.

In Japan, you can encounter various states of Mt. Fuji according to the different seasons. The first week of April is always a great time to visit because of the amazing cherry trees. When the cherry-blossom blooms along the Lake Kawaguchi, it is breath-taking.

The middle of June to the beginning of July is the best season to see the lavender along the lake and there is also a herb festival.
In summer, you can enjoy climbing Mt Fuji and a lot of people go especially in July and August.

In the winter, the cold temperature makes the scenery pale, fresh and frosty and it provides another beautiful view. It is good to know that you can see firework displays for 20 minutes on every Satuday and Sunday from the middle of January to Febuary. You mustn’t miss them!

For families, we recommend a themepark called Fuji Q High Land. The rollercoaster they have is well-known around the world. Some of the rides are registered in the Guinness world records.

There are buses on a circular route, called retrobus, around the Lake Kawaguchi and Lake Sei area. You can buy a two-day pass for 1300 yen. From Shinjyuku, it takes about 2 hours to get to the Fuji-Q High Land by highway express bus (20 services a day).

We have a convenient and special hostel to recommend near Mt. Fuji!

K’s House Mt.Fuji is a chain hostel – you can find many K’s houses all over Japan and they always have very high reputations. Every year, they welcome cutomers from 70 different countries and all the staff can speak English. In 2007 this hostel was the first of it’s kind to open near the Lake Kawaguchi.

From the hostel it only takes 2 to 3 minutes to get to the Lake Kawaguchi, the convinience store, supermarket and restaurants. You can also find bars and hot-springs next to the hostel. It’s in a small town, but you can find everything you need and more.

Click here to see all our hostels in Mt Fuji

Written by Yuko for HostelsClub.