Experience the Extraordinary Bounty of Mount Fuji with a Guided Tour Featuring Wine, Sake, and Craft Beer

A Private Guided Tour Around Mount Fuji with a Uniquely Local, Personal Touch

Satoshi “Chiyo” Chishiro knows a thing or two about Mount Fuji. As a qualified guide, he has scaled the mighty mountain over 50 times, including several full ascents all the way from the foot to the summit. As Chiyo has continued to work and live alongside the mountain, he has come to appreciate more fully how it contributes to the natural diversity, rich agricultural production, and unique culture of the region. Your private tour with Chiyo will shed light upon all of these different aspects of Mount Fuji and the surrounding area.

Along with stunning views of the mountain from varied vantage points at different times of day, the tour includes the opportunity to taste your choice of Yamanashi sake, wine, or craft beer in conjunction with a visit to a local producer to learn how that beverage is made. A visit to the area’s most sacred shrine will introduce you to traditions and beliefs about Mount Fuji, while a walk through the Sea of Trees and lava caves of Aokigahara Forest will help you appreciate the many ways that nature and geography contribute to the incredible vitality of this land.

Visit Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine, Spiritual Gateway to Mount Fuji

Your journey begins at this historic shrine, long regarded as the starting point for pilgrimages up Mount Fuji. Located at the base of the Edo-period trail up the northern face of Mount Fuji, Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine was constructed during the Edo period (1603-1868) and became known as the official starting point of the climb. A small stone torii gate at the back of the shrine signifies the first step of each pilgrim’s journey up the mighty mountain. While the Japanese word for mountain-climbing nowadays is tozan, in former times it was referred to as tohai, which roughly translates to mean climbing while praying, thinking, and reflecting on one’s relationship to the spiritual world.

“Mountains across Japan were considered sacred,” explains Chiyo. “To climb Mount Fuji was seen as stepping into another realm, one inhabited by the spirits and gods known as kami.” While Chiyo acknowledges that the religious elements of the practice may be unfamiliar to most people these days, he hopes to convey the essence of tohai: appreciating where you are in the moment, not just where you are going. He also explains the way that this mindset reflects the deep connection between people and nature in this region, including gratitude for the clean water that feeds their crops—and fills their sake bottles.

After visiting the shrine, you will proceed to a nearby restaurant where you can enjoy lunch featuring delicious Yamanashi-grown ingredients that showcase the best of the local area.

Chiyo’s Mobile Tasting Room and a Walk Through Aokigahara Forest

If you have ever toured a winery or brewery before, you are probably quite familiar with conventional tasting rooms. For this tour, however, Chiyo has come up with a clever twist on the concept, creating what he calls a “mobile tasting room.” This takes place after lunch, with Chiyo offering a selection of beverages from the region specially paired with delicious locally-sourced delicacies to enjoy en route to your next destination. Along the way, he shares further insights into the spiritual, agricultural, and cultural importance of Mount Fuji to the region.

The next part of your tour takes you to the forest of Aokigahara to venture into the rich natural world that surrounds Mt. Fuji. Stretching across a bed of hardened lava left by a major eruption in 864, this lush, dense forest is known as the Sea of Trees, with the swaying of the trees in the wind said to resemble waves rolling across an immense green ocean. The porous volcanic rocks underfoot are said to muffle sound, adding a deep and mysterious silence beneath the thick canopy of branches and leaves.

But it is under the ground where Aokigahara hides its greatest secrets, clues to the extraordinarily pure spring water that nurtures the surrounding terroir. As Chiyo explains, while the mountain has no permanent rivers or streams, snowmelt flows down from Mount Fuji each year through caves, tunnels, and porous rocks. As you explore Aokigahara, you will visit one of the caves shaped long ago by molten lava to better understand the unique geography of this place.

Learn About Local Sake, Wine or Craft Beer Production

Having explored the surrounding lands shaped by Mount Fuji, you will then travel to a site of local sake, wine, or craft beer production (based on your earlier choice of beverage).

The first option is the Ide Sake Brewery the only such brewery in the Fuji Five Lakes area, which is better known for producing fine wine than sake (a rarity in Japan). While touring the brewery, you will learn about the role that Mount Fuji’s pristine spring water plays in producing this high-quality sake.

The second option is Seven Cedars Winery, which provides great insight into the region’s long history as Japan’s primary producer of wine. Here, you will have the opportunity to taste local wines while learning about the distinctive character of each variety, as well as the differences between wine and sake production.

The third option is a local craft beer brewery such as AIM Beer LAB near Lake Saiko. Here, you will gain insight into the philosophy behind craft brewing while enjoying locally-brewed craft beer, along with a deeper understanding of the connection between the beer and the bounty of the surrounding terroir.

*For guests who prefer not to consume alcohol, a tour of a wasabi farm can be arranged as an alternative.

As your day with Chiyo draws to a close, you will have time to think about the varied landscapes, flavors, and knowledge that surround Mount Fuji. Long after you leave, you will carry memories with you of the many stories that make this land around the mountain such a unique and special place.