Fujiyoshida Onsen

Fujiyoshida Onsen sits at the northern foot of Mount Fuji, offering the mountain's most dramatic and photographed profile — a perfect volcanic cone framed against the sky, its reflection occasionally appearing in the nearby Fuji Five Lakes during calm mornings. The city is the spiritual terminus of the Yoshida Trail, the most historically important pilgrimage route up the mountain, marked by the grand torii gate of Fujiyoshida Sengen Shrine whose avenue of cedar trees has welcomed pilgrims for centuries. The onsen's geothermal waters draw energy from the volcanic heart of Fuji itself, and Yoshida Udon — thick, chewy noodles served in a rich broth with fermented pickled greens — provides the ideal warming meal before or after a long mineral soak.