Fuji Omuro Segen-jinja Shrine and Mihonomatsubara pine tree grove · 174 km from Fujikawaguchiko
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
174 km
Riding-time estimate
2 h 32
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
From Fujikawaguchiko it runs 174 km to Fujikawaguchiko; allow about 2 h 32 of riding. The stops in between: Shiraito no Taki waterfalls, Mihonomatsubara pine tree grove and back through Shiraito no Taki waterfalls. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,050 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. The line favours views over speed.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Fuji Omuro Segen-jinja Shrine
There is a good argument that this is the most atmospheric shrine at the foot of Mount Fuji, and it has nothing to do with the view. Omuro Sengen-jinja stands in a grove of huge old cedars on the northern side, close to the lake town of Kawaguchiko, and the trees are so tall and so quiet that the sound of the road disappears within a few steps of the torii. The shrine is attached to the cult of Fuji itself, the idea that the mountain is a goddess to be placated, and it is part of the World Heritage listing for Fujisan as a sacred place and not simply a pretty one.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fuji Omuro Segen-jinja Shrine is where the day begins. Next is Shiraito no Taki waterfalls.
2. Shiraito no Taki waterfalls
The water that falls at Shiraito has spent a long time underground. Rain and snowmelt seep into the porous volcanic rock of Mount Fuji, travel through the layers for years, and emerge from a cliff face southwest of the mountain as hundreds of thin streams, pouring over a curved wall about twenty metres high and some one hundred and fifty metres wide. The name means white threads, and the effect is just that: a curtain of silvery strands falling into a clear pool, with the Fuji-ko pilgrims once performing purification rituals here. The falls are part of the Fujisan World Heritage Site, and the neighbouring Otodome falls, a single powerful cascade, roar a short walk away.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Shiraito no Taki waterfalls comes up about 37 km into the recorded legs. Next is Mihonomatsubara pine tree grove.
3. Mihonomatsubara pine tree grove
Miho is a thin hook of land curling out into Suruga Bay, and Mihonomatsubara is the pine grove that covers it: tens of thousands of dark pines behind a long beach of grey, pebbly sand. People come for the view. On a clear day Mount Fuji sits on the other side of the bay, framed by the trees and the curve of the shore, and that image has been painted, printed and photographed for centuries. It is why the grove was included in the UNESCO listing for Fuji in 2013, as an artistic setting for the mountain rather than as a piece of nature in itself.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Fuji Omuro Segen-jinja Shrine. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Fuji Omuro Segen-jinja Shrine to Shiraito no Taki waterfalls
Fuji Omuro Segen-jinja Shrine → Shiraito no Taki waterfalls is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Shiraito no Taki waterfalls to Mihonomatsubara pine tree grove
Shiraito no Taki waterfalls → Mihonomatsubara pine tree grove is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mihonomatsubara pine tree grove to back through Shiraito no Taki waterfalls
Mihonomatsubara pine tree grove → back through Shiraito no Taki waterfalls is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Shiraito no Taki waterfalls to Fuji Omuro Segen-jinja Shrine
back through Shiraito no Taki waterfalls → Fuji Omuro Segen-jinja Shrine is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.