There are many, many famous spots from which to view Japan’s tallest mountain – Mount Fuji or Fuji-san – from. From tall buildings in Tokyo with viewing galleries to day trips out of the city to places like Enoshima or Hakone, everyone has their favourite place to go to and catch a glimpse of the mountain. Such a tall mountain is often at the mercy of the weather, so sometimes if you visit and the clouds are not playing ball, the tour guides will tell you that Mount Fuji is a very shy mountain, so as not to make you feel too bad about not seeing it.
One winter’s morning on the way to work, looking up from my reading as the train sped past some open ground, I caught a brief glimpse of something on the horizon. I noticed a flash of white with a distinctive shape to it, but it was gone so quickly that it was hard to be sure it had really been there. When I arrived at work, handily located on the tenth floor, I wondered if there would be another chance.
The photo at the top of the post is the view of Mount Fuji from Funabashi. Can you spot it? It is just to the right of the TV aeriel. It is not a famous viewing spot, but it is still not looking too bad from roughly 150 kilometres away. The crisp, clear, wintry but sunny air definitely helped with this photo! (Another way to see it from the city sometimes is silhouetted against the sunset.) I love the way the mountain seems to sail above the urban sprawl, impervious to all the human life teeming around its feet.
I can’t think of a better way to mark my six months in the country than a Mount Fuji view from Funabashi on what would have been a regular day at work. Thank you, Japan!
