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CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE

Yoshida lava tree molds and Hitoana Fuji-ko Iseki

Plan this ride

Recorded distance
217 km
Riding-time estimate
4 h 14
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis

The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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.

Open this ride in CurveScout

Why this ride

From Fujiyoshida it runs 217 km to Fujiyoshida; allow about 4 h 14 of riding. It goes by way of Fuji Sengen-jinja Shrine, Suyama Sengen-jinja Shrine, Fujisan and Hitoana Fuji-ko Iseki. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,050 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

  1. 1. Yoshida lava tree molds

    Mount Fuji's lava does strange things to trees. When a flow of molten rock surges through a forest, it wraps around trunks and hardens, and when the tree burns away it leaves a hollow cast, a round tube in the rock that looks like a well or a chimney. The lava tree molds at Yoshida are formed in this way, found along the lower slopes in the dense forest known as Aokigahara, where the ground is black, rough and honeycombed with caves. The flows come from eruptions of Fuji in the ninth century and later, and the forest has grown up over the cooling rock ever since.

    Read the complete Yoshida lava tree molds write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Yoshida lava tree molds is where the day begins. Next is Fuji Sengen-jinja Shrine.

  2. 2. 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.

    Read the complete Fuji Sengen-jinja Shrine write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Fuji Sengen-jinja Shrine comes up 18 km in. Next is Suyama Sengen-jinja Shrine.

  3. 3. Suyama Sengen-jinja Shrine

    On the southern flank of Mount Fuji, above the town of Susono, a quiet shrine stands among tall cedar trees at the start of one of the oldest climbing routes on the mountain. The Suyama Sengen-jinja is dedicated to the goddess of Fuji and marks the beginning of the Suyama trail, used by pilgrims for centuries before falling into disuse in the twentieth century and being partly revived in recent years. It is one of the component sites of Fujisan, Sacred Place and Source of Artistic Inspiration, listed by UNESCO in 2013.

    Read the complete Suyama Sengen-jinja Shrine write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    37 km in you reach Suyama Sengen-jinja Shrine. Next is Fujisan.

  4. 4. 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.

    Read the complete Fujisan write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Fujisan, about halfway. Next is Hitoana Fuji-ko Iseki.

  5. 5. 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.

    Read the complete Hitoana Fuji-ko Iseki write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Hitoana Fuji-ko Iseki sits at 73 km, about halfway. Next is back through Fujisan.

  6. 6. back through Fujisan

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Fujisan write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    back through Fujisan comes up 91 km in. Next is back through Suyama Sengen-jinja Shrine.

  7. 7. back through Suyama Sengen-jinja Shrine

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Suyama Sengen-jinja Shrine write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    110 km in you reach back through Suyama Sengen-jinja Shrine. Next is back through Fuji Sengen-jinja Shrine.

  8. 8. back through Fuji Sengen-jinja Shrine

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Fuji Sengen-jinja Shrine write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    back through Fuji Sengen-jinja Shrine, late in the day. Next is Yoshida lava tree molds.

  9. 9. Yoshida lava tree molds

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Yoshida lava tree molds write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    The route ends here after 217 km.

Leg by leg

Yoshida lava tree molds to Fuji Sengen-jinja Shrine

Yoshida lava tree molds → Fuji Sengen-jinja Shrine is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Fuji Sengen-jinja Shrine to Suyama Sengen-jinja Shrine

Fuji Sengen-jinja Shrine → Suyama Sengen-jinja Shrine is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Suyama Sengen-jinja Shrine to Fujisan

Suyama Sengen-jinja Shrine → Fujisan is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Fujisan to Hitoana Fuji-ko Iseki

Fujisan → Hitoana Fuji-ko Iseki is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Hitoana Fuji-ko Iseki to back through Fujisan

Hitoana Fuji-ko Iseki → back through Fujisan is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

back through Fujisan to back through Suyama Sengen-jinja Shrine

back through Fujisan → back through Suyama Sengen-jinja Shrine is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

back through Suyama Sengen-jinja Shrine to back through Fuji Sengen-jinja Shrine

back through Suyama Sengen-jinja Shrine → back through Fuji Sengen-jinja Shrine is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

back through Fuji Sengen-jinja Shrine to Yoshida lava tree molds

back through Fuji Sengen-jinja Shrine → Yoshida lava tree molds is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

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