Top 10 Amazing Facts about Fuji Hakone Izu National Park

Mount Fuji and Asagiri Plateau are seen from Mount Kenashi, Tenshi mountains, Japan. Photo by Alpsdake – Wikimedia

Top 10 Amazing Facts about Fuji Hakone Izu National Park

The Fuji Hakone Izu National Park is a sprawling 1,227sq that covers not only the iconic mount Fuji itself but also the five Fuji lakes, Hakone, parts of the Izu peninsula, and all of the Izu Islands.

The park is a collection of dispersed tourist sites, rather than a specific destination. The furthest point south is the isle of Hachijo Jima, and it stretches for several hundred kilometers from mount Fuji.

The park is the most visited natural park in japan, its vast beauty and wonders magnets visitors to the area. It’s also a UNESCO World Heritage site,

Here are the top 10 amazing facts about Fuji Hakone Izu National Park.

1. It has received more visitors than any other park in japan

In 2015 the Fuji Hakone Izu National Park received more than 124.26 million people attracting more tourists than any of the other 34 Japanese national parks.

The current park came into existence in 1936 and was formerly called Fuji Hakone national park.

It became what it is today after a segment of the Izu peninsula was incorporated into an existing national park in 1955.

In 1964, the Izu islands were added thereby uniting their existing quasi-national park status.

Its area has a richly diverse landscape that offers a variety of activities such as hiking, outdoor pursuit, and nature exploration.

The reputable tourist area is the composite volcano. The mountain peaks on the outer ring of the Somma volcanoes of Mt kinoki and Mt Myojingate were formed by volcanic activities centuries ago.

2. It has the scenic lake Ashinako

Lake_Ashinoko photo by そらみみ—Wikimedia

One of the park’s features is lake Ashinako also referred to as Hakone lake. It is a crater lake along the southeast wall of the caldera of Mount Hakone which last erupted in 1170CE.

The lake is famously associated with its views of Mount Fuji, its numerous hot springs, ryokan, and historical site.

Visitors are transported on pleasure boats and ferries across the lake, providing scenic views for passengers. Many of the boats are inspired by the design of the sailing warships.

There is also the Hakone shrine, a shrine that has been visited by shogun, samurais, and many different visitors over the centuries, giving the area an aura of historic traveling.

3. It has the magnificent shiraito falls

Shiraito Falls is a waterfall in fujinomiya, Shizuoka prefecture near mount Fuji on a branch of the Mogami River.

The waterfall is one of japans top 100 waterfalls in a listing published by the Japanese Ministry of the environment in 1990.

The water of shiraz to falls is 20m high and 150cm wide. The water cascades in long, thin threads giving the waterfalls their name.

The waterfall has been registered as a natural monument since 1936. The word shiraito means white threads in Japanese.

The water of the falls flows in thin 20 meters long white threads that bear a resemblance to silk.

In 2013, the waterfall was added to the world heritage list as part of the Fujisan cultural site.

4. The famous Fuji five lakes are part of the park

The five lakes are located in a semicircle around the northern half of Mt Fuji. In the past, lava flow from a volcanic eruption of mount Fuji spread across the area, drying up rivers and resulting in the formation of the five lakes.

The five lakes include lake Kawaguchi, which is the most famous of the five lakes. Majorly its used posters and commercials for the Fuji five.

The 2^nd lake is motosu it’s the ninth deepest lake in Japan at 140 meters. It was formed by lava flowing across the Aokigahara jukai forest into the enormous lake that once dominated the area.

The 3^rd lake is lake Sai which is on the western side of Sai, it shares its banks with the infamous Aokigahara Jukai forest.

The 4^th is lake shoji, which is the smallest of the Fuji five lakes, fragments of lava still stick out of the water. The locals usually fish from these rocks.

The 5^th is lake Yamanaka, the easternmost and the largest of the five lakes, it’s also the 3^rd highest lake in japan standing at 980 meters above sea level.

The Fuji five lakes are an outstanding feature of the Fuji Hakone Izu National Park, making the park a center for travelers to enjoy the vast variety of activities carried out at the lakes.

5. The park is dominated by the sacred mount Fuji

Mount Fuji is also called Fuji no Yama and is the highest mountain in Japan, bliss for tourists and mountain climbers.

It rises to 12,388 feet near the Pacific Ocean coast in Yamanashi and shizoku ken prefectures. The mountain is a destination spot for mountain climbers.

Every year over 300,000 people climb Mt Fuji. There are 3 mountain climbing routes on the shizoku side of the mountain.

The mountain is thought to be named after the Buddhist believed to be the fire deity. The mountain is sacred in the Shinto religion, at the bottom of the mountain there are shrines dedicated to the goddess konohananosakuya time.

6. The  park has Atagawa Tropical & Alligator Garden

Atagawa_Banana_Alligator photo by Motokoka —Wikimedia

The Atagawa Tropical & Alligator Garden is a botanical garden, a home to many alligators. It was opened in 1950 and features a variety of animals and plants.

The natural warmth of the hot springs is used to bread 29 reptile species and cultivate tropical plants.

The garden also contains a tropical botanical garden and fruit garden, it also breeds several red pandas and is home to the only western red panda.

7. The park has the famous Izu Islands

The Izu Islands are a group of volcanic islands extending south from the Izu Peninsula of Honshu Japan.

Oshima is the largest island in Japan and each of the other islands has its unique characteristics.

HachijioJima is known for its former penial colony, Mukurajima for dolphin watching, and, Niijima for its numerous beaches.

8. The national park host Mount Amagi

Mount_Amagi photo by Batholith —Wikimedia

Mount Amagi is a range of volcanic mountains in the central Izu peninsula in Shizuoka prefecture, Japan.

It’s another feature of the park and is also referred to as the Amagi mountain range.  The beauty of the mountains is portrayed through its several peaks, the tallest which are Bansaburōdake at 1,406 meters, Banjirōdake at 1,300 meters, and Tōgasayama at 1,197 meters.

9. There is a man-made lake used for agriculture at the park

One will expect the park to be fully surrounded by naturally occurring features, surprisingly lake tanuki enclosed in the national park is an artificial body of water.

Lake tanuki was made in 1935 by using part of a nearby river flow, to create a large reservoir for irrigation purposes.

The shores of the lake were arranged for sightseeing and various low-impact activities such as fishing, camping, hiking, and boating.

10. It has the iconic Hakone park

View_of_Mount_Hakone photo by Quercus acuta —Wikimedia

Another feature of the Fuji Hakone Izu National Park is Hakone park or onshi Hakone in Japanese, meaning royally given.

The park is located in Hakone town; it occupies 15.9 hectares in the Togashima peninsula stretching out to Lake Ashi.

It was established as one of the emperors and empress villa in 186, but was handed to the public in 1946 and became a prefecture park.