Japan: Kamikaze? Hait!!!

Mt.Fuji: The highest mountain in Japan with a beautiful cone shape. The center of mountain worship since ancient days.

Mt. Fuji is 3,776 meters high and is the highest mountain in Japan, situated in the southeast part of Yamanashi at the border of Shizuoka. With unrivaled magnificence and a beautiful cone shape, Mt. Fuji has often been selected as the subject of paintings and literature. It is the world-famous as a symbol of Japan.

At the foot of Mt. Fuji are Fuji-Goko (Fuji's Five Lakes), Aoki-ga-hara-jukai (a sea of trees that is dark even during the day), and Kitaguchi-Hongu Fuji-Sengen-jinja Shrine (which was constructed to calm the eruption of Mt. Fuji). The Fire Festival of Yoshida, held at the end of the summer as a ritual for closing the climbing season for Mt. Fuji, is one of the three most peculiar festivals in Japan.

Mt. Fuji has long been the center of mountain worship of ancient Japan. Today, it is a popular mountain to climb, and many people climb Mt. Fuji to watch the sunrise called Goraiko from the top. Access to the 5th station is well maintained, so you can go up to this point and thoroughly enjoy the magnificence of Mt. Fuji by just looking at the beautiful sight and its surrounding environment close at hand in all seasons without having to climb all the way to the top.

Kawazu Seven Waterfalls: An ancient mountain passage that was once the setting for a famous novel. Seven magnificent, aligned waterfalls.

Amagi-toge Pass is an old historical pass crossing a mountain about 820 meters above sea level at its peak. Located in the center of the Izu-hanto Peninsula, it leads through beautiful cedar and cypress trees to the main setting for the novel "Izu no Odoriko" (A Dancer in Izu) written by author Yasunari Kawabata, a Nobel Prize laureate.

Yugashima-onsen Hot Spring, located at the junction of the Kano-gawa and the Nekko-gawa rivers, is known as a calm and composed spa area which was cherished by many writers, including Yasunari Kawabata. The old passage through the mountain pass of Izu, embraced by rich, deep forests, still preserves the atmosphere of an older time. This is the site of the number one waterfall in the Izu district, Joren-no-taki, where you can enjoy the magnificent view of massive volumes of water cascading down from atop the soaring rock mountain.

The Kawazu-gawa River originates around Amagi-toge Pass and flows through the eastern part of the peninsula. There are seven waterfalls, known as the "Kawazu Nanadaru," located on the upper course of the river, where you can walk beside the stream along a well set out promenade designed to help visitors appreciate the series of waterfalls. From the uppermost going downstream, they are named: Kama-daru; Ebi-daru; Hebi-daru; Shokei-daru; Kani-daru; Deai-daru; and Oh-daru. The largest of all is Oh-daru, which is about 7 meters wide and 30 meters high.

Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route: Enjoy the beauty throughout the four seasons along one of Japan's best alpine sightseeing routes. The highlight of the route is the Kurobe Dam, the highest in Japan.

The Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route is an international mountain sightseeing route of some 90 kilometers long. The route goes across the 3,000-meter-high North Alpine mountains, the so-called "roof of Japan," and connects Toyama and Shinano Omachi. You can enjoy the panorama, from the fresh green of spring, to the red leaves of fall, to the new snow of winter, by taking a train, highland bus, trolley bus, cable car, and ropeway. Since the lines opened in June 1971, the Tateyama mountain area has been transformed from an isolated spot into one of the nation's best sightseeing areas, where a million guests visit every year.

Murodo-daira of Tateyama has one of the heaviest snows in the world, and the snow reaches about seven meters on average. In particular, the snow mantle at Otani, a five-minute walk from Murodo Station, sometimes gets more than 20 meters because of snowdrifts. The famous "Snow Walls" are formed by expelling this heavy snow, and the 500-meter-long area with such snow walls is open to sightseers from mid-April to late May.

The Kurobe Dam, built at the upper stream of the Kurobe-gawa River, an arched concrete dam of 186 meters high, is the highest in Japan and is higher than a 50-floor skyscraper. From the dam's observatory, you see a panorama view of the Tateyama Mountain Range and the North Alpine. Visitors can see the dynamic water discharge at the dam from 26 June to 15 October.

Himeji Castle: A prominent castle designated as a World Cultural Heritage. The castle resembles the shape of a heron with spread wings.

The Himeji Castle is located in Himeji City in the western Hyogo. It was constructed in the mid-14th century, and after a three-layer castle tower was built by the order of the man of power Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the 16th century, Ikeda Terumasa, a feudal lord of the castle rebuilt it further in the 17th century. Its figure was likened as a white heron spreading its wings, and thus called the Hakuro-jo, or White Heron Castle. It was designated as a national treasure in 1931, and as the World Cultural Heritage in 1993.

The Tenshukaku (castle tower) is the main structure and has 5 stories in appearance but 6 stories inside and a first basement. All structures are covered with white plaster unique to Japan. The roofs are covered with kawara tiles and white plaster is applied to the joints. The sturdy, magnificent structure and elegant appearance, as well as complex and tactical defense devices make the Himeji Castle the most prominent castle in Japan.

The Castle hosts the Himeji Castle Cherry Blossom Viewing Fair, cherry blossom viewing drum music performance and Princess Sen-hime Peony Festival in spring, Himeji Port Festival in summer, Moon Viewing Fair and Himeji All Japan Ceramics Market in autumn. Visitors never cease throughout the year. In the surrounding areas, there are a Japanese garden Koko-en, an affinity with the Castle, Otokoyama Sen-hime Tenmangu Shrine and Hyogo Historical Museum.