I wasn't even aware of such a tug of war of feelings until I saw a program on Japanese TV some years back that showed various aspects of foods, fashions, culture, etc. around Japan that people in one region of the country feel as normal and which comes as a surprise to the locals that nobody else in the country is even aware of it and finds downright quirky. So for this region of Japan, they showed how people in Shizuoka take for granted that Mt. Fuji is theirs and people in Yamanashi feel that instead it is theirs. Thanks to that tidbit of information, we had a good laugh as an ice breaker of the first meeting of families when my daughter was engaged to be married as one father was born in Shizuoka and the other in Yamanashi and neither had realized how perceptions were so different until watching the same show! Whew... Saved from a faux pas by either side grandly making claim to it!
Actually, I didn't think that Mt. Fuji would ever be able to gain status as a World Heritage site. I know it was a shock to me the first time that I laid eyes on it back in 1980. In jr. high school, in the States, I'd had a teacher who had a calendar featuring Mt. Fuji hanging on her wall the entire school year. I can still remember it to this day. A perfectly snow capped Mt. Fuji, a long bridge spanning across a river, cherry trees in bloom... Quintessentially Japan...
So picture me on my first drive to Mt. Fuji with my then boyfriend (now husband of more than 3 decades) with high hopes of seeing the mountain that day. We made a pit stop at a rest area along the Tomei Highway toll road at Fujikawa. After a quick trip to the ladies room, I walked out of the rest room and there it was smack in my face, the exact same view I'd stared at all during the jr. high year! What???!!! Taken from the view coming out of a smelly squat toilet along a major highway?! Noooooooo..... That was just sooooo wrong! Maybe you can't see the mountain in the background of this photo as it is very faint, but it's there. But, where were the cherry blossoms? Wrong season. They only bloom for about the first 10 days of April, but indeed that same cherry tree that graced my jr. high teacher's calendar so many years before is off to my right in the photo. That young sapling to my left is probably a mature cherry now, so many years later.
We continued on our drive and up the mountain as far as one can go by car. More surprises were in store for me. As you can see in the photo below, there was just a sprinkling of snow at the peak on November 1, 1980.
Unlike many of the glaciated mountains that I was familiar with in North America, which have permanent snowy peaks until global warming revs up even more and melts them all off, Mt. Fuji is a dormant volcano that only has snow part of the year. Also, unlike many of the mountainous areas I've been to in North America, the forest growth is quite low and rather unimpressive.
But, why did I think it could never achieve World Heritage status? It's just not very pristine. It has too much of a foot print left by mankind. I was astounded in 1980 to see the bullet train (shinkansen) zipping by at the base, as well as, a local train line and a major highway. The city of Fuji, which also sits at the base of the mountain, has an estimated population of over 250,000 and one of its main industries happens to be smelly pulp-paper factories. People who aren't eco-friendly dump trash on the mountain in secluded areas. When climbing season opens in the summer, it is an endless line of people, like an army of ants, trudging to the summit until climbing season closes in the autumn.
Part of the mystic of Mt. Fuji is that it all but disappears for about 6 months of the year! Right after the cherries bloom, the sky becomes hazy. It's called "hana gumori" (the words for flower and hazy combined) in Japanese. So, except for rare windy days or immediately after a typhoon, the mountain is invisible from early April until October or so. You can drive right past it and never know it is there! I've often thought about how the mountain must have had the status of the gods for earlier people. Well, actually, it still does. That's where its status as a World Cultural Heritage Site comes into play because it has deeply influenced the heart of the Japanese soul.
On clear days it pops in and out of view according to various factors such as the elevation one is at. At lower elevations, such as river beds and sea level, it is very easy to spot.
From Yaizu, showing Shizuoka city in the background and the Pacific Ocean.
From the port of Shimizu.
Green tea fields of Makinohara, the Oi River with Shimada and Mt. Fuji in the background.
Just because it's so beautiful, here's another view of the Oi River with Shimada, and Mt. Fuji in the background.
From the Makinohara Plateau with green tea in the foreground.
Just for some variety, I'll show you one of my best secret spots to gaze endlessly at the splendor which is Mt. Fuji.
The Mr. and I sat on a log after a long hard climb to eat our o-bento with this magical view.
But, we risked running into the owner of these bear claws markings along the hiking trail! Yes, Japan actually does have more wildlife than just crows and alley cats!
For the less hardy when it comes to trekking, a drive on the Tomei Highway can give you a splendid view on select days of the year.
Soon enough you'll come to Fuji city. But watch out for cars with drivers from prefectures further afield as they weave back and forth staring in amazement. Better yet, just take a trip on the bullet train (shinkansen) and enjoy the passing scenery!
Oh, and just for the heck of it I'll show you some stamps that commemorate Mt. Fuji.
In these parts, everything is Mt. Fuji related, even the tofu!
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