With over 80 percent of its landmass blanketed with forested hills and snow-covered peaks, it’s perhaps not surprising that Japan has a public holiday dedicated to the mountains.
Celebrated every 11 August as Yama no Hi or Mountain Day, this relatively new holiday isn’t religious, nor does it have any historical significance.
The Japanese government wanted folks to enjoy a day off in the mountains. Isn’t that nice?
The Japanese hold a special reverence for mountains. Like rivers, rocks, trees, and other natural phenomena, mountains are said to be where kami, the gods of Japan’s Shinto religion, dwell.
Princess Konohanasakuya-time, guardian of the 3,776 meter-high Mount Fuji, the country’s tallest peak among the most prominent kami.
For thousands of years, the active volcano, fondly referred to as Fuji-san by locals, has inspired art and philosophy.
Perhaps the most famous is “Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji,” a series of woodblock prints by famed Edo period artist Hokusai that depicts the unchanging nature of the majestic mountain in various settings.
A few hundred years earlier, 16th-century swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi wrote: “With your mind as high as Mount Fuji, you can see all things. And you can see all the forces that shape events – not just the things happening near to you.”
While mountains have always loomed large in Japan’s cultural geography, it wasn’t until 2014 that a public holiday was declared to celebrate them.
The reason August, the eighth month of the year, was chosen for this holiday is both cute and logical, not to mention characteristically Japanese. It’s right there in the kanji.
Kanji or Chinese characters form one of three writing systems used in Japanese, alongside hiragana and katakana.
The kanji for the number eight consists of two downwards diagonal strokes that slide outwards towards the bottom, resembling the shape of a mountain.
Mount Fuji may be high on the list for first-time visitors to Japan, but there are plenty of other options for a mountain vacation.
Located on the foothills of the Akaishi Mountains, Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan has welcomed samurai lords and celebrities into its cozy tatami rooms and rejuvenating hot springs for over 1,300 years, making it the oldest operating hotel in the world.
If you’re looking for an adrenaline rush with a touch of glam, Hokkaido in the north is home to some of the world’s finest ski resorts, nestled in picturesque, snow-covered towns such as Niseko Furano and Rusutsu.
Meanwhile, the lush foliage of the Kii Mountains, peppered with ancient Shinto and Buddhist shrines, is truly deserving of its UNESCO World Heritage Site status.
Ultimately, though, a sight of the mountains is hard to miss while in Japan. They can be easily spotted during cross-region train or bus rides or at tourist attractions like the Fushimi Inari shrine or Arashiyama Monkey Park in Kyoto.
Depending on where you stay, scenic peaks may even be visible from the window of your guest house. This is, after all, a nation that’s 80 percent covered in the mountains.
Now, isn’t that nice?