7 tips on how to take beautiful pictures of Mount Fuji

Mount Fuji is a stunning photographic object for tourists.

You can take amazing photos of Mt. Fuji and surrounding nature with the mountain in the background all year round.

Follow these seven rules and try to take pictures of one of Japan’s most iconic beauty spots

1. Take a shot whenever Mt. Fuji comes into view

If you wait to capture Mt. Fuji for a perfect moment, you will often miss your chance because clouds appear from nowhere and hide the mountain.

2. Check the weather and choose a sunny day

To enjoy a great view of Mt. Fuji the best conditions are a bright sunny sky with no clouds hanging over the mountain.

3. Morning is the best time

It is best to aim for an early morning when the air is clear. The visibility often gets poor past 10 am.

4. Climb as early as possible

This is related to the third tip. It is important to stay as long as possible at a spot to successfully capture Mt. Fuji on film. In other words, you should reach the shooting point as early as possible.

5. Know the focal distance of the lens

Make sure on a 35mm equivalent focal length, a measure that indicates the angle of view of a particular combination of a camera lens and film or sensor size

6. Effectively utilize clouds

The manner in which the foreground is captured with the clouds in the background is important. Pictures without any clouds in the sky are often considered less attractive.

7. Know the difference between pink Fuji and red Fuji

Pink Fuji and Red Fuji are two phenomena that are created by the rays of the sun at sunrise and sunset. Pink Fuji refers to the pink appearance of the snow-covered mountain between winter and spring while Red Fuji describes the red mountain surface that can be seen between summer and fall after the snow melts.

Capturing Red Fuji and Pink Fuji

When the light of the sun first hits Mt. Fuji in the morning, turning it red, this view is known as Akafuji or Red Fuji, and is known as an auspicious omen. Akafuji has been illustrated many times in both hanging scrolls and in ukiyo-e works. You can sometimes see Akafuji at Oshino Hakkai (the springs of Mt. Fuji) and Lake Yamanakako.

Below a video on Benifuji or Pink Fuji, viewed from Lake Yamanakako.

The Rare Diamond Fuji Experience

When the sun rises or sets, at the moment the mountaintop meets and almost seems to overlap with the sun, is known to the Japanese as Diamond Fuji. Diamond Fuji can only be seen for a very limited time from December to April.

The Fuji Five Lake region is one of only a few places where you can see the rare “Double Diamond Fuji”, i.e. Mount Fuji together with its reflection just as the rising or setting sun touches the mountain peak.

This is the end of my 7 x blog series about Mount Fuji. I would like to leave you with a video of the beautiful Mt. Fuji titled “COOL JAPAN! MT. FUJI” with background music ‘Oriental Wind’ by Joe Hisaishi.

Enjoy it!