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Fuji-Hakone-Izu NP, Yamanashi
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Kunimasu survived in Sai after vanishing from Lake Tazawa: eggs were transferred here in 1935, before acidic water wiped out the Tazawa population in 1940. Nine fish identified in Sai in 2010 revealed its survival.
The Fuji Five Lakes have a shy unofficial sixth: rain can raise Shoji Lake until water fills nearby Akaike, a normally dry hollow. The phenomenon is attributed to water seeping through porous volcanic ground.
Wakasagi were not native to the Fuji Five Lakes: in 1919, eggs from Lake Kasumigaura were first released in Yamanaka and Kawaguchi. The fish later became local fare, especially sweet, shelf-stable kanroni simmered whole.
At Kawaguchi’s annual Mago-mi (“grandchild-visiting”) festival, a procession carries baby clothes to Cape Ubuyagasaki as the shrine’s goddess visits her grandson’s family—a family story played out beside the lake.
Kōyō Okada’s 1935 Motosu photograph, Kohan no Haru (“Spring by the Lake”), supplied the Fuji image on Japan’s 1984 ¥5,000 and 2004 ¥1,000 notes—a real lake reflection reproduced as paper currency.
Fuji pilgrims did more than climb: from the 18th century, the Eight Lakes Circuit sent worshippers to sacred waters for purification, with all 5 Fuji Five Lakes at its heart. Each was believed to shelter a dragon deity.
Motosu hides a submerged archaeological site: pottery and stone tools span Jōmon to Kofun times, mostly the 5th century. Researchers are still testing whether volcanic flooding, a settlement or ritual offerings explain it.
The western trio—Sai, Shoji and Motosu—were once one vast lake, Ko-Senoumi. Lava split it; the 864 eruption formed Sai and Shoji. All three still share an elevation near 900 m and are thought to connect underground.
The collective name Fuji Five Lakes is surprisingly modern: in 1927, promoter Ryōhei Horiuchi entered all five together in a newspaper contest to select Japan’s 25 scenic views. The grouped entry won, helping popularize the name.
A Yamanaka sixth-grader spotted marimo during a science lesson in 1956. Scientists identified a new variety, Fujimarimo; finding it so far south challenged the belief that marimo grew only in cold northern regions.
In 1895, Harry Stewart Whitworth opened Shoji Hotel and publicized the lake abroad as “Japan Shoji.” Early visitors reached Panorama-dai on horseback or in chairs carried by 2–4 people—a resort shuttle unlike today’s.
At Yamanaka, sunset meets Fuji’s summit for about 4½ months, from mid-October to late February. When the lake is glassy, the sun’s reflection creates a “double Diamond Fuji”—one jewel above and one below.
Yamanaka is the only Fuji Five Lake with a natural surface outlet: its water becomes the Katsura River in Yamanashi, then the Sagami River after crossing into Kanagawa, flowing onward to Sagami Bay.
From Shoji Lake, small Mount Omuro sits in front of Fuji, making the great peak look as if it is holding a child. Locals call the alignment Kodaki-Fuji—“Child-Cradling Fuji.”
