Mount Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan, rising to 12,388 feet. Visible from Tokyo on a clear day, the beautiful cone-shaped mountain is located west of the city, surrounded by lakes in a national park.
Mount Fuji is a volcano, which geologists estimate was created 600,000 years ago during the Pleistocene era. It last erupted in 1707 and is now dormant. According to Buddhist tradition, Fuji rose from the earth in 286 BC after an earthquake that also created Lake Biwa (the largest lake in Japan).
Mount Fuji is named for the Buddhist fire goddess Fuchi and is sacred to the Shinto goddess Sengen-Sama, whose shrine is found at the summit.
It is the holiest of Japan's "Three Holy Mountains." Every summer, thousands of pilgrims and tourists climb to the summit, many of them hiking throughout the night to witness the sunrisefrom the summit