Holiday in Mount Fuji(Most Beautiful Mountain) ,Japan

The correct Japanese name for the mountain is Fuji-san; the usual English form, Fujiyama, is not often used in Japan. In early times it was revered as a sacred mountain, the home of the gods, and from the 12th C Buddhist teaching held that it was the gateway to another world. Until 1868, like other natural shrines, it was banned to females. Nowadays Fuji is climbed in the work of the months of July and August by over a million people, for whom the ascent is an  religious act, the culmination of which is the observation of dawn on the summit (Goraiko). The beginning and ending of the official climbing season are celebrated on July 1 and August 31 with solemn ceremonies, but climbers do go up all year round.

Mount Fuji is the highest peak in the Fuji volcanic chain in central Japan and Japan's highest and most stunning mountain. Its regular form has been celebrated since early times in poetry and painting, for example in the verses of Yamabe Akahito (8th C) and the series of woodcuts, "Views of Fuji" by Hokusai (1760-1849). The symbol and emblem of Japan, it can be seen on clear days from as far away as Tokyo. It lies within the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park.

Fuji is a strato-volcano which came in to being in the Quaternary period, some 300,000 years ago. Its  exactly circular base has a diameter of 22-25mi/ 35-40km. The name is believed to come from the Ainu word for fire. Eighteen eruptions have been recorded in historical times, the most violent being those of 800, 865 and 1707. In the work of the 1707 eruption the town of Edo (Tokyo), 60mi/ 100kn away, was covered with a thick layer of ash and the lateral crater of Hoeizan (8865ft/ 2702m) was formed. Since then the volcano has been dormant. On the northern flank of Fuji are the five Fuji lakes.

There's five routes up Mount Fuji, each divided in to ten stages (gome) of varying length (ichi-gome = first stage, ni-gome = second stage, etc.) At the finish of each stage are stone direction signs and sometimes a mountain hut. In the work of the season all the huts are open, so that climbers can spend the night at one of the intermediate "stations".

The ascent is usually begun in the early afternoon, so as to reach the 7th or 8th station before dusk. Then early the following morning climbers continue to the summit and walk around the crater (diameter 550yds/ 500m). The descent is begun about midday, returning to base in the late afternoon. An increasingly popular variant is to make the ascent in one go, beginning about 4pm and reaching the summit at dawn. The advantages of this method are that it takes less time and avoids the heat of the day. In any event clouds obstruct the view down in to the valley after 9am. Fuji ought to not be climbed in winter in view of the danger of avalanches.