Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
worship of volcanoes, encircle Fuji, and this is the most important, dating right back to
788. The beautiful main shrine (
honden
) was built in 1615. Look around the back for
the jolly, brightly painted wooden carvings of the deities Ebisu the fisherman and
Daikoku, the god of wealth, good humour and happiness, who appears content to let a
rat nibble at the bales of rice he squats upon.
Togawa-ke Jutaku
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Off Fuji-michi • Daily 9.30am-5pm • ¥100
Between the Fuji Sengen-jinja and the train station you'll likely spot a few old
pilgrims'
inns
(
oshi-no-ie
) set back from the road, their entrances marked by narrow stone pillars.
Some of these old lodging houses, where pilgrims used to stay before climbing Mount
Fuji, still operate as minshuku today, and one,
Togawa-ke Jutaku
, has been opened up
as a tourist attraction; its various tatami halls are worth pottering around, though the
staff will want to explain every single thing to you in Japanese.
Fujikyū Highland
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• Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat & Sun 9am-6pm; closed second Tues of month • Entry ¥1300; entry plus one-day ride
pass ¥5000 •
W
www.fujiq.jp
An appealingly ramshackle amusement park,
Fujikyū Highland
lies just one train stop
west of Fuji-Yoshida, and features the terrifying Fujiyama and Eejanaika roller coasters;
an even more recent addition is the Takabisha, which claims to have the world's
steepest drop - 121 degrees of terror. Avoid coming at weekends or holidays unless you
enjoy standing in long queues.
20
Kawaguchi-ko
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The small lakeside resort of
KAWAGUCHI-KO
lies a couple of kilometres west of
Fuji-Yoshida, and makes a more appealing place to stay. With its cruise boats and
crass souvenir shops, it's the tourist hub of the area, and is often choked with tra
c
during the holiday season. However, the lake is placid and strikingly beautiful,
especially at night, when the various visitors are clip-clopping around its southern
fringes in their wooden
geta
sandals (said footwear being de rigueur for those
staying at ryokan).
Tenjō-zan
ఱ্ࢁ
• Off Misaka-michi •
Cable car
Daily: March-Nov 9am-5.20pm; Dec-Feb 9am-4.40pm • ¥700 return
The fabulous view of Mount Fuji from the top of
Tenjō-zan
is probably the highlight of
a trip to Kawaguchi-ko; of course, you'll also get a great view of the lake from here,
since it's right next door. You can either take a three-minute cable-car ride up to the
lookout, or get some exercise by hiking up, which takes around 45 minutes.
Fuji Local History Museum
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, Fuji Hakubutsukan • Off Highway 710 • South fringe of lake • April-Nov Mon & Thurs-Sun 9am-4pm • ¥200
The little
Fuji Local History Museum
is worth poking your head into if you're in the
area. It was once a pilgrims' inn, and one section remains styled in the fashion of those
times; there's also a good collection of old photographs of the area, and a great big
chunk of rock ejected by Fuji during its last eruption.
Kubota Itchiku Art Museum
ٱอాҰඒज़ؗ
, Kubota Itchiku Bijutsukan • 2255 Guchiko • 4km northwest of Kawaguchi-ko • April-Nov daily
9.30am-5.30pm; Dec-March daily except Wed 10am-4.30pm • ¥1300 •
T
0555 76 8811,
W
itchiku-museum.com • 25min by bus
from Kawaguchi-ko station
One of the highlights of Kawaguchi-ko is the
Kubota Itchiku Art Museum
, on the
northern shore of the lake. This small museum, housed in a Gaudí-esque building,
