Arakurayama Sengen Park
新倉山浅間公園35°30′ N 138°48′ EViewpoint
Arakurayama Sengen Park in Fujiyoshida gives the postcard view of Mt. Fuji rising behind a five-storey pagoda, and it suits anyone willing to climb 398 steps at dawn; the trade-off is a crowd that has strained the homes below, so come early and carry your rubbish home.
Photo Supanut Arunoprayote · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0 and others, credited in the gallery
Access
The Sakuya-hime stairway has 398 steps up to the viewing deck. The city asks visitors to keep vehicles off the square in front of the pagoda, so there is no driving up.
The red pagoda is Fujiyoshida's Chureito, a memorial tower built in 1962 to enshrine 1,055 people from the city who died in war. It stands below Arakura Fuji Sengen Shrine, which makes the whole hillside sacred ground, and the city holds a service for the war dead there each September. Keep your voice down on the deck, because this is a place of remembrance.
From the deck the city of Fujiyoshida spreads out below, and Fuji sits square behind it. The deck reopened after rebuilding on 1 February 2022. Before that, crowds had pushed onto stone walls and slopes on private land beside the park, and the city fenced the edge in 2015.
Fujikyu's Shimoyoshida Station is the stop for the park, about 25 minutes on foot from the tower by the city tourism office's count. Coaches may only drop people at the station and must then move on to the bus car park, so tour groups walk the same lanes as everyone else. The city also bars coaches from Taisho-ji temple nearby and asks drivers not to stop in the surrounding streets, where they block residents.
Worth knowing
- Spread the load: Oishi Park on the north shore of Lake Kawaguchi gives Fuji across the water with lavender in early summer and red kochia in autumn.
- Use the toilets in the park. The city asks coach passengers to stay out of the toilets at Shimoyoshida Station.
- Carry your rubbish down with you, since litter was one of the reasons the city started charging for parking.
Quick answers about Arakurayama Sengen Parkよくある質問
What is the Chureito Pagoda?
The Chureito is a memorial tower in Arakurayama Sengen Park, finished in 1962 to honour 1,055 people from Fujiyoshida who died in war. It takes the form of a five-storey pagoda.
How many steps are there to the Chureito Pagoda viewpoint?
The Sakuya-hime stairway has 398 steps from the foot of the park to the viewing deck.
Is there parking at Arakurayama Sengen Park?
Yes. Since April 2025 the city's four car parks charge ¥1,000 or ¥1,500 for up to six hours, and P1 closes during the spring traffic controls.
What are the opening hours of Arakurayama Sengen Park?
Arakurayama Sengen Park is open the park and its viewing deck stay open around the clock. Fujiyoshida lights the pagoda from dusk until 21:50, starting at 16:00 in December, January and February and as late as 19:00 from June to September.
When is the best time to visit Arakurayama Sengen Park?
Arakurayama Sengen Park: Clear winter mornings give the sharpest view of Fuji with snow to its shoulders, and the city counts the white season among the park's best. Cherry blossom in April brings the biggest crowds of the year. Early on a weekday in May or June the deck is quieter, and the city calls the new-leaf season a good time to come.
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