Yamanashi or Shizuoka? Where to Actually See Mount Fuji, According to Locals on Both Sides
Short answer
Yamanashi for a clear, classic Fuji; Shizuoka for sheer size. A Shizuoka local's top comment (129 likes) says their side clouds over from midday.
129 likes on the most-liked comment433-comment thread · 2024 video
山梨側か静岡側か——富士山が綺麗に見えるのはどっち、両県民のコメント
By Rakutaro · Tokyo, Japan
For the best odds of a clear Mount Fuji, go to the Yamanashi side; for sheer size, go to Shizuoka, says a Shizuoka local in the most-liked viewing comment (129 likes) under a 2024 explainer on which prefecture owns the summit. They add that the Shizuoka side gets clouds from midday on. Then residents of both prefectures cross the line: a Yamanashi local finds the view from Shizuoka grander (36 likes), while Shizuoka locals admit the symmetrical shape and the upside-down lake reflections they love are shot from Yamanashi. As one commenter puts it, nobody really cares who owns the mountain; which side it looks better from is the real fight. Two of them also name where they'd send you instead.
These comments are from a video published in 2024. Prices, rules and crowds may have moved since; anything we checked ourselves is marked with a source.
“If you want better odds of seeing it clearly, go to the Yamanashi side. Shizuoka gets clouds from midday on. If you want to think "wow, that's tall," go to the Shizuoka side. From Yamanashi it looks about 2,700m tall. I'm a Shizuoka resident, but I hope everyone goes all the way around and enjoys it.”
綺麗に見える確率上げたいなら山梨側、静岡は昼から雲被る。 高いなぁって思いたいなら静岡側、山梨側だと2700mくらいの高さに見える。 静岡県民だけど、みんなはぐるっと一周して楽しんで欲しい。
Where locals go instead
Nagaizumi, Shizuoka resident here. So true. The view from Osezaki in Shizuoka is the best.
静岡県長泉町民です。 たしかに。 静岡県の大瀬崎で観る景色が最高なんだよな
— @にべのべに6 likesThe Fuji you see from the Southern Alps is the best, so Yamanashi it is.
南アルプスから眺める富士山は最高なので山梨で
— @ririri-114 likes
Places named in this article
- Lake MotosuYamanashi
Named for its upside-down reflected Fuji, which one commenter says settles the argument because it ended up on a banknote (17 likes).
- Cape OsezakiNumazu, Shizuoka
A Nagaizumi resident's pick for the best view on the Shizuoka side (6 likes).
Named in the source comments. Where a note gives a price, opening status or rule, we checked it against the linked source on the date shown — everything else is what the comments said. All of it can change; check the map listing before you go.
FAQ
- Which side of Mount Fuji has the better view, Yamanashi or Shizuoka?
- It depends on what you want. Residents of both prefectures agree the views across a lake and the symmetrical, reflected Fuji are on the Yamanashi side, while the Shizuoka side looks bigger because of the height difference (5 likes). One Shizuoka resident says their side is best in summer, when the mountain is deep blue.
- Why does Mount Fuji look dented from Shizuoka?
- The dent is Mount Hoei, on the Shizuoka side of the mountain. A Shizuoka resident says winter views from home show "a dented part" that feels like a waste, and another says a trip to Yamanashi was the first time they saw Fuji without Mount Hoei on it, and it moved them (9 likes).
- Is the Yamanashi side of Mount Fuji easier to get to?
- Yes, according to a Yamanashi resident who climbs the mountain: the Yamanashi side is more convenient to get to, while the Shizuoka side is the pick if you want somewhere quiet to take it easy (3 likes). A Shizuoka resident in the top comment still hopes visitors go all the way around.
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What locals said — picked from the top 200 of 433 comments
I don't care whose it is, but people do fight over which side it looks better from.
どっちのものについてはどうでもいいけど 綺麗に見える方は争ってるんだよな
Shizuoka resident here. The symmetrical, beautiful shape, the upside-down reflected Fuji, the photos of Fuji I find beautiful are always from the Yamanashi side. I like the view from Yamanashi better!
静岡県民です。シンメトリーな綺麗な形とか、逆さ富士とか、美しいなって思える富士山の写真はいつも山梨県側です。山梨県から見る方が好きです！
The upside-down Fuji from Lake Motosu ended up on a banknote, so that settles it.
本栖湖からの逆さ富士がお札になってる時点で勝負ついてるんですわ
I'm a Shizuoka resident, but when I went to Yamanashi on a trip and saw Fuji, it had a different kind of grandeur than usual and it moved me. That was the first time I'd seen Fuji with my own eyes without Mount Hoei on it. Since then I've thought the Fuji from Yamanashi is good too.
俺静岡県民だけど旅行で山梨に行って富士山見たときにいつもと違う雄大さを見て感動した思い出がある。 宝永山がない富士山をこの目で見たのはそれが初めてだった。 それ以降山梨からの富士山も良いなと思ってる。
I'm from Yamanashi, but I like looking at it from Shizuoka. It's grander.
山梨県民だけど静岡から見る方が雄大で好き
If you're going to look at it, it's from the Shizuoka side!
見るなら静岡側からだよな！
So the stunning views of Fuji across a lake are only from Yamanashi, but the side where it looks bigger, because of the height difference, is Shizuoka.
湖ごしの富士山の絶景は山梨からしか見えないけど、標高差でより大きく見えるのは静岡側ってことか
Fuji from the Shizuoka side is best seen in summer. It's deep blue and you get a mountain that really looks artificial. Winter is nice too, but there's a dented part and it makes you go, "Ugh, what a waste!" I don't really know the Fuji you see from the Yamanashi side, but I think the snow-covered Fuji photos are mostly from the Yamanashi side. Someday I want to go see it properly with my own eyes.
静岡県側の富士山は夏に見るのがいい。真っ青で本当に作り物みたいな山が見られます。冬もいいけど、へこんでいる場所があって「うーんもったいない！」って気持ちになります。 山梨県側から見る富士山はいまいち知らないのですが、雪が積もった富士山はわりと山梨側の写真ばかりだと思います。いつかちゃんとこの目で見に行きたい。
The Yamanashi side is more convenient to get to. If you want somewhere quiet to take it easy, the Shizuoka side. I'm a Yamanashi resident, and I love climbing up from the Fujinomiya trailhead, coming down the Gotemba trail, and running down Subashiri (below the 7th station).
アクセスに便利なのは山梨県側。 静かでのんびり過ごしたいなら静岡県側。 山梨県民だけど、富士宮口から登って御殿場口で下って、須走(七合目下)を走り下りるのが大好きです。
Shizuoka people call the Shizuoka-side Fuji the "front Fuji," and Yamanashi people call the Yamanashi side the "front Fuji." I grew up in Shizuoka and now live in Yamanashi, and I think the "back" Fuji is beautiful too lol
静岡人は静岡側の富士山を表富士と呼び、山梨人は山梨側を表富士と呼ぶ。そんな静岡出身の自分は今山梨に住んでいて"裏"富士も綺麗だなぁと思ってます()
As a Yamanashi resident who rides motorcycles: both the Yamanashi side and the Shizuoka side feel great to ride, and from either side, even from Hakone, you can shoot Fuji with its own character. So instead of fighting over a prefectural border that wouldn't even exist without Fuji, let's just be glad Fuji is here! I do bring it up as a joke when I talk with Shizuoka people though 🤪 But honestly, having both the ocean and Fuji is unfair! I'll split Fuji with you, so split the ocean with me too!
バイク乗りのイチ山梨県民としては、山梨県側も静岡県側も走ってて気持ちいいですし、山梨県側も静岡県側も箱根からでもそれぞれの趣のある姿の富士山が撮れるので、元々富士山がなければ生まれない県境とかいうつまらんことに争わずに富士山があることに喜びましょうよ！静岡の人と話す時とかにたまにネタにするけどね🤪 でも正直、海と富士山両方あるのずるい！富士山半分こするから海も半分こしてくれぇ！