Mount Fuji: Japan - Paperback

by Lea Rawls (Author)

Mount Fuji (富士山 Fujisan) located on Honshū, is the highest mountain in Japan at 3,776.24 m (12,389 ft), 2nd-highest peak of an island (volcanic) in Asia, and 7th-highest peak of an island in the world.[1] It is an activestratovolcano that last erupted in 1707-1708.[4][5] Mount Fuji lies about 100 kilometers (60 mi) south-west of Tokyo, and can be seen from there on a clear day. Mount Fuji's exceptionally symmetrical cone, which is snow-capped for about 5 months a year, is a well-known symbol of Japan and it is frequently depicted in art and photographs, as well as visited by sightseers and climbers.[6] Mount Fuji is one of Japan's "Three Holy Mountains" (三霊山 Sanreizan) along with Mount Tate and Mount Haku. It is also a Special Place of Scenic Beauty and one of Japan's Historic Sites.[7] It was added to the World Heritage List as a Cultural Site on June 22, 2013.[7] According to UNESCO, Mount Fuji has "inspired artists and poets and been the object of pilgrimage for centuries". UNESCO recognizes 25 sites of cultural interest within the Mount Fuji locality. These 25 locations include the mountain and the shrine, Fujisan Hongū Sengen Taisha, as well as the Taisekiji Head Temple founded in 1290, later immortalized by Japanese ukiyo-eartist Katsushika Hokusai. In English, the mountain is known as Mount Fuji. Some sources refer to it as "Fuji-san", "Fujiyama" or, redundantly, "Mt. Fujiyama". Mount Fuji is an attractive volcanic cone and a frequent subject of Japanese art especially after 1600, when Edo (now Tokyo) became the capital and people saw the mountain while traveling on the Tōkaidō road. Mount Fuji is a very distinctive feature of the geography of Japan. The summit of Mount Fuji has a tundra climate (Köppen climate classification ET). The temperature is very low at the high altitude, and the cone is covered by snow for several months of the year. The lowest recorded temperature is -38.0 C (-36.4 F) recorded in February 1981, and the highest temperature was 17.8 C (64.0 F) recorded in August 1942. Mount Fuji is located at a trench-trench-trench triple junction where the Amurian Plate (Eurasian Plate), the Okhotsk Plate(North American Plate), and the Philippine Sea Plate meet. The forest at the north west base of the mountain is named Aokigahara. Folk tales and legends tell of ghosts, demons, Approximately 300,000 people climbed Mount Fuji in 2009. The most-popular period for people to hike up Mount Fuji is from July to August, while huts and other facilities are operating.