Many cultures hold mountains to be sacred—the ancient Greeks had Olympus; the Aztecs, Popocatépetl; the Lakota, Inyan Kara—but nothing equals the timeless Japanese reverence for this notoriously elusive volcano. Parting earth and sky with remarkable symmetry, Fuji is venerated as a stairway to heaven, a holy ground for pilgrimage, a site for receiving revelations, a dwelling place for deities and ancestors, and a portal to an ascetic otherworld. (Smithsonian Magazine)
On June 19 (Day 157), we docked in Shimizu, Japan. I booked an excursion that “promised” a visit to the shrine at the foot of Mount Fuji and views of The Mountain.
Mount Fuji (or Fujisan as it is known in Japan) is not just a mountain. It is the spiritual center of Japan.
We travelled over an hour to the base of the mountain to visit the most famous of many shrines there. The shrine (Fjujisan Hongu Sengen Taisha) is one of the main starting points for spiritual climbs up the mountain. Our guide for the tour spends summers helping working with climbers about to ascend the mountain. We got just a taste of the importance this place has to her and to many (most I think) Japanese.
Closer to the ship, we visited an important pine grove, Miho no Matsubara. It was a quiet, reflective walk through trees near the water. We did stop on a beach and I took this picture aiming toward the spot where Mount Fuji is. (Maybe you can just make out the base in the fog).
Since Mount Fuji is often “shy” (as our tour guide explained), the efficient Japanese have provided another way to get a picture of the famous mountain. I was able to take this great picture of a huge poster, showing us what we would have seen if we had been here on one of the days when the mountain reveals herself.
June 19, 2023.