Hitoana Fuji-ko Iseki and Fuji Sengen-jinja Shrine
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
154 km
Riding-time estimate
3 h 08
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 Fujinomiya it runs 154 km to Fujinomiya; allow about 3 h 08 of riding. It goes by way of Fujisan, Fuji Sengen-jinja Shrine and back through Fujisan. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,050 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Hitoana Fuji-ko Iseki
Deep in the lava forests on the western foot of Mount Fuji there is a cave formed when molten rock flowed down the slopes and its crust cooled while the interior drained away. The Hitoana lava tube is small and low, but in the sixteenth century an ascetic called Hasegawa Kakugyo is said to have practised extreme austerities inside it, and he became the founder figure of the Fuji-ko, the popular confraternities whose members climbed Fuji as an act of worship. Around the cave entrance stand hundreds of stone memorials erected by Fuji-ko groups over the centuries, mossy and leaning among the trees. The site is one of the components of the World Heritage listing Fujisan, Sacred Place and Source of Artistic Inspiration.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hitoana Fuji-ko Iseki is where the day begins. Next is Fujisan.
2. Fujisan
At 3,776 metres, Mount Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan, and its almost perfectly symmetrical cone has been a sacred symbol and an artistic inspiration for centuries. UNESCO listed Fujisan in 2013 as a cultural site, a place of worship and source of artistic inspiration, rather than for its natural beauty alone, recognising the shrines, pilgrim trails, lakes and springs around the mountain, and the woodblock prints of Hokusai and Hiroshige that made its image famous around the world.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fujisan comes up about 42 km into the recorded legs. Next is Fuji Sengen-jinja Shrine.
3. Fuji Sengen-jinja Shrine
On the eastern side of Mount Fuji, in the village of Subashiri, a shrine has stood at the start of the pilgrims' path for more than a thousand years. The Fuji Sengen shrine, often called Higashiguchi Hongū, the eastern main shrine, marks the beginning of the Subashiri trail to the summit, and pilgrims traditionally prayed here before starting their climb. The shrine is set in a forest of tall cedars and old trees, with a red gate, wooden halls and a quiet, spiritual atmosphere, and it is one of the components of the Fujisan UNESCO site, recognised as part of the mountain's cultural and religious landscape.