Mt. Fuji: An object of worship and a cultural icon for Japanese

Mt. Fuji is by far the most famous and important mountain for Japanese. 

Mt. Fuji (Fujisan, 富士山) which locates in Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures is the highest mountain (3,776m) in Japan. Its' perfectly symmetrical cone has been an object of worship and a cultural icon for centuries.

Mt. Fuji was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2013: "Fujisan, sacred place and source of artistic inspiration". Animism, the belief that all natural things have sprits, has been very common from ancient times to the present among Japanese people.  Of course, Mt. Fuji is no exception. There are about 1,300 Sengen shrines (浅間大社) worshiping Mt. Fuji around the country. The head shrine of these shrines, Fujisan Hongū Sengen Taisha, is located in Mt. Fuji.

Mt. Fuji has also been used as a cultural symbol in Japan. Mt Fuji was recited again and again in the oldest Japanese poetry collection (Manyōsyū, 万葉集) in 8th century. In the 1830s, Mt. Fuji was also described in woodblock prints (Ukiyo-e, 浮世絵) such as "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji by Hokusai and Hiroshige". In the 1860s, Ukiyo-e was introduced to European artist as a part of Japonism and Impressionist painters including Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet were influenced by the use of colors and composition in Ukiyo-e.

It takes about 2 hours from Tokyo to Mt. Fuji by train or direct bus. If you don't have enough time to visit, you can see Mt. Fuji from Tokyo on a sunny day. 

Himeji Castle: One of the first World Heritage Site and 12 original castles in Japan

Himeji Castle (姫路城) is the only one castle listed on World Heritage Site of 12 original castles in Japan.

There are about 100 castles which have a castle tower (Tensyu, 天守) in Japan now, but there are only dozen castles left which considered "original" ("original" means castles which have a castle tower built in Edo period or earlier). After the build of Azuchi castle (安土城) in 1579, about 3,000 castles which have a castle tower were built all over the country, but many of them were lost because of "Law of One Castle per province" in Edo period, "Law of Abandonment of Castles" in 1873 by Meiji government and World War Ⅱ.

Himeji castle dates to 1333 when a fort was built on the top of the hill. The castle was rebuilt as a three-story castle in 1581 and remodeled again as a today's five-story castle from 1601 to 1609. Himeji castle is also called as "Shirasagi Castle" which means "White Heron Castle" praising the beauty of white outer walls. Not only in the beauty of appearance, but also in the defensive systems, Himeji Castle stands above the rest. Himeji castle has a threefold spiral-shaped defense line by cleverly using surrounding nature including rivers and hills and artificial buildings including a lot of gates, towers, stone walls and moats.

Himeji Castle of beauty and strength is a special castle for Japanese because it is the first and the only one castle listed on World Heritage Site in Japan.