富士山

Mount Fuji

Japan’s iconic peak

As Japan’s tallest and most sacred mountain, with an almost symmetrical form that dominates the landscape, the 12,388-ft (3,776-m) Mount Fuji is the classic symbol of Japan and a source of inspiration for artists and poets. The woodblock artist Katsushika Hokusai famously depicted the peak in his Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji series, which includes one of the most reproduced images in history, The Great Wave off Kanagawa.

The first person to climb it is said to have been a monk in the 600s, and it has long been revered as one of the three holiest peaks in Japan thanks to its sheer size, volcanic power, and tales of deities that call it home, as well as the ascetic challenges provided by its climate and terrain.