Our Airbnb put us in contact with Yoshi who arranged a private tour from our Airbnb to several points of interest involving Mount Fuji. The tour was custom designed to suit our needs since we were interested in hiking in Aokigahara forest. The tour was spectacular. We started at Oishi Park, on the north side of Kawaguchiko (the second largest of the Fuji Five Lakes). It has the most amazing view of Mount Fuji since today was a clear day and the pristine gardens were bursting with color. Mount Fuji is an active volcano, and the highest peak in Japan.
Just thirty minutes away, on the northwest side of Mount Fuji, we were dropped off at Narusawa Hyoketsu Ice Cave with time to explore, walk through Aokigahara Jukai forest to the wind cave and then meet our driver in another parking area.
Narusawa Hyoketsu Ice Cave was created over a thousand years ago, and is now a national monument and a geological wonder. Its internal temperature averages 37F and it has ice year round.
It is an hour walk from the ice cave to the wind cave through the Aokigahara Jukai forest (also known as the Sea of Trees). The forest is dense but the path is easy to follow (you are not permitted off the path). There is only one crossroad close to the wind cave so be sure to turn right there.
Fuji Fugaku Wind Cave is a designated Japanese National Monument. During the Showa era it was used as a refrigerator to store the eggs of silkworms.
Next on the itinerary was Oshino Hakkai, on the site of a dried up sixth Fuji Lake, there are eight ponds here, all fed by fresh, ice cold Mount Fuji water.
Last on our itinerary was Iyashi no Sato, an open air museum exhibiting traditional thatched homes of a former fishing village. This village was destroyed in a landslide during a typhoon in the 60s and reconstructed forty years later. One of the buildings is a museum which showcases erosion and sediment control, the cause of the disaster.
With traffic today was a fourteen hour Mount Fuji filled day. It is unbelievable how much we saw in that time period. Views of Mount Fuji never grow old.
Yoshi’s email is so5424ky@gmail.com.
Gorgeous!
Christmas card picture ✅
You captured the 14 hours so well. Wow. I love that spider. Everything is so vibrant. What a truly amazing adventure. I can’t believe all you fit in one day and that EVERYONE is still smiling. What unforgettable memories for all. Wow.
Well it was nice having a chauffeur! It made a huge difference. The tour was well worth the price we paid. I really wanted everyone to view Mount Fuji. It’s the closest I have ever been!