"Journeys in Japan"

Fuji-san... Mt. Fuji.

These days, it's possible to hike all around this iconic peak.

The route is called the Mt. Fuji Long Trail.

Kyle Card is an actor who hails from Canada.

Kyle has set out to complete the entire trail,

taking in the spectacular scenery of late fall.

Are we going down there? It looks really dark!

Adventure!

This time he'll be making his way along the west side of Mt. Fuji,

starting from the south.

360 Degrees of Mt. Fuji
Hiking The Long Trail Part II

Mt. Fuji lies 100 kilometers to the west of Tokyo,

straddling the border between Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures.

The Mt. Fuji Long Trail was mapped out in 2021.

In all, it's 170 kilometers long.

In the previous episode, Kyle hiked along the eastern flank of the mountain.

This time he'll be heading up its west side.

Shizuoka Prefecture, to the south of Mt. Fuji,

produces more tea than anywhere else in Japan.

Hello.

This is a beautiful tea plantation.

- Thank you. Where are you from?
- I'm from Canada.

Tea has been grown here in Fuji City for a long time.

Why is tea production thriving in Shizuoka?

This area stands on lava from Mt. Fuji's eruptions.

Tea can be grown here without needing to water it.

That's why tea cultivation spread during the Edo period.

The last time Mt. Fuji erupted was around 300 years ago.

Traces of that massive event are still visible today.

These are lava bombs.

In an eruption, they would have hurtled through the air at speeds of over 300 kph.

Really? 300 kph?

Each of the eruptions brought different minerals and ores.

Those minerals give the tea its deep, complex flavor.

The eruptions were actually beneficial for tea cultivation here.

But many tea plantations were buried under the volcanic ash.

This is volcanic ash. In some places it is 2-3 meters deep.

There must have been many victims each time there was an eruption.

Even so, people return to live here again.

The area around Mt. Fuji is that sort of place.

These are freshly sprouted tea leaves.

Now it's autumn, they're getting much coarser.

But there are still some fresh leaves here.

Would you like to try some tea?

Thank you, I'd love to.

I make a point of getting the very last drops.

They hold the concentrated flavor of the tea.

Please try it.

Thank you.

It has a sweetness. It's very smooth.

Thank you.

What makes it so delicious?

The complexity of flavor derives from the climate,

as well as from the minerals from the lava in the soil.

It makes me happy to know my tea can give people a taste of this land close to Mt. Fuji.

(Fujinomiya)

Welcome to Mt. Fuji World Heritage Centre.

This building is massive.

Let's go up this ramp.

What kind of place is this?

Our facility opened in 2017, after Mt. Fuji was registered as a World Heritage Site.

These videos and animations show how Mt. Fuji formed.

The Japanese archipelago lies at a point where tectonic plates converge.

The collision and subduction generate magma and other volcanic activity.

The magma is pushed up from deep underground.

Mt. Fuji was formed from lava and ash expelled through repeated eruptions.

The most recent eruption, which began in 1707,

generated huge amounts of volcanic ash.

This shows the depth of the volcanic ash

that fell during the eruption in the 18th century.

The ash accumulated some 4 meters deep.

That shows the tremendous power of the eruption.

In just one week, this much ash piled up.

- Everything must have been crushed.
- That's right.

Sengen-taisha is the headquarters for about 1,300 shrines

across Japan dedicated to the worship of Mt. Fuji.

Welcome to Sengen-taisha Shrine.

Thank you.

In the old days, people believed eruptions were the wrath of the mountain deity.

To appease them, people made offerings to pray for the eruption to subside.

All they could do was to pray.

Later, they channeled their worship through this shrine.

It's reported that, when Mt. Fuji erupted in 864,

priests from Sengen-taisha were summoned by the imperial court in Kyoto

and scolded for not praying enough.

It's harsh to blame people for a natural disaster.

But that's an interesting story.

At the Shiraito Falls in Fujinomiya City,

snow melt gushes out of the volcanic cliffs.

During the Edo period, pilgrims made their way here to undergo ascetic practices,

or as a prelude to climbing the peak.

That's another angle of Fuji I haven't seen before.

See? There's a huge gouge in the side where it seems to be literally collapsing in on itself.

This massive rift in the side of the peak is called the Osawa Kuzure.

The side of the peak is gradually collapsing,

which generates about 800 tons of rock and grit every day.

It's really paramount to nature after taking its course after tens of thousands of years,

it presents us with this version of Fuji.

And after a few days, months or years,

you may never be able to see this version of Fuji ever again.

This village is known for its hot spring,

which has drawn climbers and other visitors since ancient times.

It looks amazing.

This hearty local noodle dish is called "hoto."

All right. Itadakimasu.

All right, let's try the soup first.

Oh, that is good. It's got a lovely miso flavor, and it's a bit sweet as well.

There's a bit of a dashi kick as well. Oh, delicious.

Let's try it out.

Look at these fat, ribboned "udon" noodles.

It's just packed with calories, I assume.

Great for stamina.

Oh, it's so hot!

Wonderful. Just wonderful.

Look at all these veggies. You've got carrots, daikon.

You've got some mushrooms. You've got it all.

Look at the size of that hunk of pumpkin!

There's lots of winter vegetables, really good for warming up the body.

This is just so refreshing after such a long journey.

The visual is just so cool with all the rocks. It's just so relaxing.

It's really cool to think that so many hikers and travelers alike,

over hundreds of years, have rested their weary bodies in these very springs.

(Asagiri Plateau)

What a wonderful day and location for camping.

And how lucky are these campers to have such picturesque views of Mt. Fuji,

which is something along my journey I learned is never promised.

You know, you could have the best planning and best weather,

but Mt. Fuji often has plans of its own and likes to play a little hide and seek.

So with a little hope and the favor of Mt. Fuji,

you might just luck out like these campers.

So, apparently, there's a facility in this area that offers a rather exciting activity.

Let's go check it out.

Pleased to meet you.

- There are a lot of buggies here.
- We have about 15 of them.

What's special about your buggies?

You get to ride across this terrain formed by lava that flowed out of Mt. Fuji.

That's a priceless experience.

You don't see terrain like this normally.

The lava is exposed in places here. Take it easy up this slope.

Adventure!

Okay.

That was great!

You're a good driver.

Thank you. I've done it before, in Canada.

The area we drove through was also on lava that flowed directly from Mt. Fuji.

Yes, the ground was very bumpy.

You can really feel it when you're driving a buggy.

Yes, I felt it a lot.

And the view of Mt. Fuji is amazing.

It looks beautiful today.

This is Aokigahara, also known as the Sea of Trees.

It's a thick forest covering 30 square kilometers,

which spread across lava from an eruption of Mt. Fuji in the year 864.

Hello, Ota-san!

Hello, Kyle. You've finally made it to Aokigahara.

It's taken me quite a while.

I'll guide you through here.

Thank you.

This forest is untouched. It's primeval, a virgin forest.

Amazing!

Take care here.

Are we going down there? It looks really dark!

Yes, we are.

What an adventure!

Watch your step. It's wet underfoot.

It's so dark!

The lava is very bumpy.

The space has opened up here.

It's overwhelming.

This cave formed in the lava from the eruption.

There are 80 to 90 caves and cavities like this underneath the Sea of Trees.

That's a lot.

The inside of this cave used to be filled with ice formations,

but they all melted a few years ago.

I'm sad the ice is all gone.

Just a few years ago, there were large icicles in here.

But they began melting faster and faster and now there's no ice left.

That may be due to global warming.

This cave is changing and it's likely

that the Sea of Trees will also change in the future.

Nature is always changing.

The times change and so does the climate. And nature changes along with it.

Earth was born,

seas roared,

and mountains erupted through the ages.

Life then emerged.

And here we are

after countless eons.

The Fuji Mountain Long Trail spans 170 kilometers.

It was a challenging journey, but it still taught me a lot.

Mt. Fuji, revered since ancient times, reveals to us the cycles of nature,

the repeated eruptions, and the birth of new life.

It is truly a breathtakingly beautiful and sacred presence

for which I don't have the words to fully express or convey,

which is why I recommend everyone to visit Mt. Fuji at least once

and gaze upon its current quintessential form,

shaped over tens of thousands of years,

and perhaps feel or catch a glimpse

of that special something that has kept it feared,

revered and beloved, just as long.

From Tokyo, it takes an hour by Shinkansen bullet train to reach Fuji City,

the starting point for this episode.

By car it takes two and a half hours.