JJapan Trips

Is there a good place to view the sunrise with mount Fuji in the front?

As in the title, we love hiking and one of us also loves photography. Could you recommend a place, where you have a good view of Fuji with the sunrise somewhere behind it? I tried searching, but all i get is a lot of sunrise FROM Fuji, but that is not what I’m looking for. Pictures are welcome! Thanks!

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Edit: Is it possible to get a bit of ocean in the back? or there arent high enough mountains for that to the west of Fuji?

10 comments

  4. I’ve only been to Japan once, years ago, but I bet you can find some place to give you this view. Mount Fuji is really big. Maybe big is not right… it’s really wide on the base. It takes literal hours to drive around it. There’s got to be some city that gives you that view you want. Your biggest problem will likely be clouds, it’s often cloudy around the top.

  5. Mt Fuji View hotel is pretty nice. The view is mostly natural with a little town at the side. Very nice in the morning, spent 30 minutes staring at it after I woke up. Find a room facing the Mt Fuji and be lucky and wake up early. Sometimes the clouds will block the view, if it’s not blocking the view, it may block it very soon. But it’s very nice, 8/10 will go there again but will probably find another hotel to try and see.

  6. I am on my way to Kawaguchiko Lake tomorrow. It’s the best place to view Mt Fuji whether from a nice hotel, a mini hike, or anyway you’d like!

  8. Hottarakashi onsen is an open-air onsen north-northeast of Fuji and some of the marketing images show bathers watching the sunrise. We were considering it for our trip. You won’t get quite the shot you’re looking for with Fuji in front of the sun from there though, you’d have to be on the other side of the mountain.

  9. I’ll try to explain the idea on how to find where and when Diamond Fuji is visible.

    First thing, the sun rise east, but actually not dead center east all the time, it depend on the time of the year and location, but if you are to split the the sky in two, it will always rise from the eastern side and set at on the western side. This mean that if you want to see Fuji Diamond, you need to be on the opposite side of the object you want to see, so west side of Mount Fuji for sunrise and East side for sunset.

    Second thing, to evaluate the range of where the sun will set, you have to keep 4 dates in mind, that are equinox and solstice. At equinox, sun will rise and set exactly East and exactly west of Mount Fuji. From spring equinox, it will rise and set further north until it reach summer solstice, this mean you would need to be south of the East-West line. On the opposite, from Fall equinox, it will move south, so you have to go further north to see it. Of course, there is a limit of how far north or south you can go. For example, it is impossible to see Diamond Fuji at sunset from Kawaguchiko, as it is too far north, but Lake Yamanaka is about close to the northern limit.

    You can use a website like this [http://suncalc.net/#/35.3584,138.7267,11/2022.12.21/10:48](http://suncalc.net/#/35.3584,138.7267,11/2022.12.21/10:48) and change the date and location to see where the sun rise and set. You can put the maker on Mount Fuji and you need to be at the opposite side of the sunset/sunrise line, or put it on a location and the line need to point toward Mount Fuji.

    For the question of ocean view, technically, I think yes. Would need to be when the sun rise in the northern most part, so around summer solstice, so you would be as far south as you can (so closer to the ocean). I would think of a place like mount Shinoi, that should align, and looking south east [you can see the ocean in the distance](https://goo.gl/maps/qMuaDjFvk8F6x53C9). Actually the real date for Mount Shinoi would be around June 5 and July 9. Let say you have to thing about the logistic of climbing the mountain to be there at sunrise, so is there place for camping, do you have camping gear, etc. And the question is, is that an ocean view for you ?

    For sure there is likely easier places to access if you want to see Mount Fuji + water, so it would be something like Lake Tanuki, around April and August 20. As a bonus, if it’s not windy, the mountain will reflect on the lake and you can get double diamond Fuji. If you cannot stay at the nearby hotel, at least it is possible to rent a car and drive there in the night. On the opposite side, if you want a lake and a sunset, it would be Laka Yamanaka in November or February.

    On the other side, sunset Fuji diamond with Ocean in front of it is possible, from the Shonan coast, for example Enoshima. Either in mid April of Late august.

    About the location, you do not need to be at high altitude to see Mount Fuji, however, it is quite surrounded by mountain, so if you want to see it behind the mountains, then you need the be in a location higher than the mountain you want to see over. However, if you are close enough, then then you do not have to be especially high, for example it’s possible to see Mount Fuji from ocean level, for example from Enoshima.

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    The big question is, do you select your date based on Diamond Fuji dates at a specific location, of will you choose a place based on your dates ? Does it need to be perfect Fuji Diamond, or is it ok if it’s about aligned with the whole mountain ? Does it have to be sunrise, or is sunset ok ?

    Also keep in mind that Mount Fuji is notorious for liking to hide in the clouds, so the chance that you won’t be able to see it at all does exist (for me it only cleared at the end of my third day around Hakone and Kawaguchiko).

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    Edit : if you mean ocean in the back of Mount Fuji….. maybe… that is if you are at least 500m higher than Mount Fuji in the exact good location… and as Mount Fuji is the tallest mountain in Japan, thin mean you would have to fly.

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