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2018.04.04
Mt. Fuji World Heritage Center
Mt. Fuji World Heritage Center, located in Fujinomiya City, is a new facility with much information on Mt. Fuji. It takes about 8 minutes on foot from Fujinomiya Station (JR Minobu Line). Nearby paid car parking is available for those who drive to the facility.
This brand new building was completed in 2017 and attracts many people from home and abroad. It is a must-see place for visitors to the area.
The facility is the symbol of Mt. Fuji, which was designated as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Sites in 2013. The building has many inspirational exhibits showing the religious and artistic aspects of the mountain and shows other images such as climbing Mt.Fuji and the surrounding nature.
The facilities consist of a large beautiful vermilion colored “torii”, a unique shaped central building, and a large water pool connected to the main building.
At the entrance, visitors can see a unique scene. The facility is skillfully designed, so that if weather permits, visitors can enjoy four beautiful images of Mt. Fuji: the real view of Mt. Fuji in the distance, the actual inverted Mt. Fuji reflecting on the water basin, the man-made building in the shape of an inverted Mt. Fuji, and the reflection of the building in the shape of Mt. Fuji in the water basin. If you have a chance to see them successively, it will be one of the best parts of your visit.
The main building was designed by the famous architect Shigeru Ban, who is also famous for his “paper partition” work which was employed in temporary shelters to protect the privacy of individuals after the Northeast Great Earthquake occurred in 2011. Many designers competed to design this building, however, no one had a more unique design than Ban’s inverted shape of Mt. Fuji.
Inside the building, visitors can see the very uniquely shaped central exhibit. The materials used for it include Japanese cypress called “Fuji Hinoki”, which have long been grown in this area. The building used about 8,000 pieces of cypress wood. Wood pieces were put together without nails and completed in a shape of large wooden lattice, we called, “kigoushi” or “mokugoushi”. The work is very elaborate and impressive. Japanese cypress is said to be flexible in this climate, because it absorbs humidity and expands in summer, and shrinks in dry cold weather.
The central exhibition building has four main floors connected by a helical slope with a total distance of 193 meters. It gives the image of climbing the real Mt. Fuji, because top of the building is designed as an observation platform where an unobstructed view of the actual Mt. Fuji can be seen on fine day. Visitors can enjoy walking up and down along the slope, while seeing many pictures and images.
Each floor has a different theme so people can learn about Mt. Fuji: 1. Ascending Fuji, 2. The Fierce Mountain, 3. The Sacred Mountain, 4. The Beautiful Mountain, 5. The Nurturing Mountain, 6. The Inherited Mountain.
According to the guide, the most popular attraction is the video theater on the second floor. On the hour and half hour the seven minute video “Ten No Maki” (Sky Version) runs. At 15 minutes after and 15 minutes before the hour, the eight minute film “Chi No Maki” (Ground version) runs. These films present the beautiful, spectacular nature and culture of Mt. Fuji. It took two years to complete these videos, and they are well worth viewing.
Other facilities such as a library, a cafe, a souvenir shop, and a training room are on the first floor. The library holds many books related to Mt. Fuji. Most are written mainly in Japanese, but there are some books in English. The book shelves in the library are made of Japanese white birch. People are not permitted to borrow the books and take them outside the library, however, everyone can stay to enjoy them in the library. The cafe and souvenir shop have a good atmosphere and various goods unique to Mt. Fuji. Wi-Fi service is available and if you have a mobile phone with an earphone, you can use the guidance system in Japanese, English, Korean, Chinese, Simplified Chinese.
For more information: https://mtfuji-whc.jp