Five Best Photo Spots in Yamanashi

Running up the highlands that border the mighty peak of Fuji, the Aokigahara Forest is a stretch of virtually untouched woodland thick with sugi, cypress, red pine, hemlock, and, at higher elevations, kometsuga and Veitch's fir. The dense forest, soundtracked by birdsong, is popular with hikers on daytrips from Tokyo, who make their way down marked trails or over to Fugaku Wind Cave and the Narusawa Ice Cave, both photogenic spots in their own right. The trail out from Saiko Bat Cave also offers some great views of Mount Fuji. Nature photographers are treated to a fascinating ecosystem of small mammals and birds. Putting aside the warmed-over pop culture depictions of the place, it’s a good idea—and this goes for any place in the country—to read up on the history of the forest, and be respectful of the place.

Aokigahara Sea of Trees

Yamanashi Prefecture Minamitsuru-gun Fuji Kawaguchiko Town

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Fugaku Wind Cave

3.0

16 Reviews

Yamanashi Pref. Minamitsurugunfujikawaguchikomachi Saiko Aokigahara 2068-1

0555852300

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Narusawa Hyoketsu Ice Cave

4.0

297 Reviews

Yamanashi Pref. Minamitsurugunnarusawamura 8533

0555852301

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Lake Saiko Bat Cave

Yamanashi Minamitsuru-gun Fujikawaguchikomachi Nishi

0555823111

9:00-16:00

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If you’ve ever idly wondered about the etching on the reverse side of a 1000 yen note… Okada Koyo snapped the original photo, now embellished with cherry blossoms, from the shores of Lake Motosu. One of the bodies of water that make up the Fuji Five Lakes, a group of lakes at the base of Mt. Fuji, Motosu is a surrounded by hiking trails heading out to spots with great views of the surrounding landscape. After snapping your own shots, pay tribute to the man himself at the Koyo Okada Photo Art Museum near Oshino Hakkai, and check out the large format rig that captured the shot on the back of the 1000 yen bill.

Lake Motosu

Yamanashi Pref. Minamitsurugunfujikawaguchikomachi Motosu

0555872518

Freedom to walk

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Shiki-no-mori Oshino Park Koyo Okada Photo Art Museum / Koike Kunio Drawing Letter Art Museum

4.5

3 Reviews

Yamanashi Minamitsuru-gun Oshinomura Shibokusa 2838-1

0555843222

10:00-17:00 (Last entry is 1…

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If you do stop by Okada’s museum, Oshino Hakkai is worth checking out (or vice-versa). The eight seas (hakkai) in the name refer to the eight ponds fed by underground springs. An open-air museum has been put up around the largest of the ponds, with thatched-roof huts done up in a traditional style. The views from Oshino Hakkai of Mount Fuji are impressive, especially with the olde tyme cottages in the foreground—weather permitting, of course.

Oshino Hakkai Springs

Yamanashi Pref. Minamitsurugunoshinomura Shibokusa

0555844221

Open 24 hours[Sokonuke Pond]…

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Set within the boundaries of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, Lake Kawaguchi has been popular with photographers in particular since the late-1800s when early daguerreotype equipment was dragged out to Yamanashi to snap pictures of the sacred mountain. Apart from the views of Fuji, the shoreline of the lake offers up plenty of other views. With each season a new face is revealed: area’s desolate beauty is only enhanced by the coming of midwinter snow, the green of the surrounding hills and the shade of the forest in the summer, and many will say that autumn is the time to come, when the hills are lit red with autumn foliage and clear skies give the best views of Mount Fuji and the surrounding landscape.

Lake Kawaguchi

4.0

2 Reviews

Yamanashi Prefecture Minamitsuru-gun Fuji Kawaguchiko Town

0555723168

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Tokyo - Lake Kawaguchi Shuttle Bus by VIP Liner

¥3,000

Update date：2024/04/16

Part of the Arakura Sengen Shrine, the Chureito Pagoda is a steep climb up from the main complex, making it the perfect model to pose in the foreground of Fuji shots. In the autumn, when the leaves turn and Tokyoites make the pilgrimage out to the Fuji Five Lakes to see the foliage, the area teems with visitors. But make your way there midweek, a bit later in the season, and things will be almost peaceful. Take a classic shot of Chureito Pagoda, the valley below and the majestic Mount Fuji towering over all.

Arakura Fujisengen-jinja Shrine

2-4-1 Asama, Fujiyoshida-shi, Yamanashi Prefecture

0555232697

9:00-16:00

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Arakurayama Sengen Park

Yamanashi Pref. Fujiyoshidashi Arakura 3353-1

0555211000

Open 24 hours

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