Home: Diamond
Fuji Viewing Spots, Dates, and Times in Tokyo
Diamond Fuji Viewing Spots, Dates,
and Times in Tokyo
One
of the most interesting things about Mt. Fuji I've ever heard
of while residing in Japan is what's known as "Diamond Fuji," a
phenomenon which occurs when the sun sets into
or
rises out of Mt. Fuji's cone, setting off sunbeams that resemble a
glittering diamond.
Because Mt. Fuji lies southwest of Tokyo, Diamond Fuji is visible at
sunset from most locations in the nation's capital only from Oct. to
Feb. The Diamond Fuji pic below was taken by a Tokyo friend of
mine
from the shore of Lake Yamanakako, one of the Fuji 5 Lakes.
Diamond Fuji photo
taken Feb. 17, 2011 by Berndt
Otto
And WOW, check out this 34-sec. timelapse video of the Diamond Fuji
taken Feb. 19, 2021 by a Weathernews staffer from the shore of Lake
Yamanaka.
(If the player above is not visible, you can view video at YouTube here.)
After a failed attempt to view Diamond Fuji on Dec. 23, 2014 atop Mt.
Takao along with hundreds of other photographers and romantics, and a
lengthy but very fun Xmas Day Diamond Fuji discussion thread with my
friends in the "Hiking in Japan" group at Facebook, I decided to put
together the table below, listing the best high-rise spots in Tokyo for
viewing Diamond Fuji along with
recommended dates, sunset times, admission fees, and links to Google
maps.
Sunset times indicated above are from
<suncalc.net>,
and reflect the moment the top of the sun disc
touches the horizon, therefore, depending on the viewer's altitude, the
sun may begin setting into Mt. Fuji's
cone (perhaps as much as 10-15 min.) earlier. [suncalc.net has since bit the
dust, so I recommend using this site for sun tracking: suncalc.org]
Diamond Fuji viewing spot names above are
linked to their Google maps.
Sources:
Thanks mostly to <jnto.go.jp>, <japan-guide.com>,
<suncalc.net>, and my friends in the "Hiking
in Japan" group at Facebook.
Links to other Diamond Fuji
pics/sites:
Diamond
Fuji, as seen from the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower 52nd floor
observatory on Nov. 4, 2015 Diamond
Fuji, as seen from my apartment building on Feb. 10, 2015 Diamond Fuji pics taken in Ichikawa, Chiba on
Mon., Feb. 11, 2008 from 5:11-5:16 pm Viewing Diamond Fuji from atop Mt. Takao (in
Japanese) Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and
Tourism
(ダイヤモンド富士 - Diamond Fuji) - a very LONG list & map of recommended
Diamond Fuji viewing spots & dates throughout the Kanto region (in
Japanese) Google map of Diamond Fuji viewing spots around
Lake Yamanakako (in Japanese) Photo gallery of Diamond Fuji photos taken since
2006 (mid-Oct.-late Feb.), linked from Google map above (in Japanese) 毎日ダイヤ
- an amazing collection of Diamond Fuji pics for nearly every day of
the year by Diamond Fuji expert, Hiroshi Tashiro (田代博) (in Japanese) -
original page went south, but pics are still viewable on the Wayback
Machine. Tokyo Observation Deck Guide - the best high-rise
observatories in Tokyo, with opening hours/dates, admission fees, deck
heights, etc.
Sample Diamond Fuji sun
position calculation using Suncalc.net
Diamond Fuji sun position from Sunshine 60 Bldg.
for 16:35 sunset on Nov. 16
(the orange line indicates the sunlight trajectory at sunset)
(Source: suncalc.net (no longer functional))
Diamond Fuji - July 30, 2012
(photo credit: The Asahi
Shimbun, Asia & Japan Watch)
Bills to ban the shots are being drafted and considered in Florida, Texas, South Carolina, Tennessee, Iowa, Idaho, Montana, and Washington State. “The evidence is clear—over 81,000 physicians, scienti…
Mt. Tateyama (立山), elev. 3015 m, and Mt. Tsurugi-dake (剱岳), elev. 2999 m, are without question two of the most spectacular mountains in the Northern Japan Alps, if not in all of Japan.
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