Japan is the country home to Mount Fuji, the volcano and iconic landmark rising 3,776 metres above sea level.
Mount Fuji stands on Honshu, Japan’s largest island, west of Tokyo and close to the Pacific coast. It is a stratovolcano formed through successive volcanic stages, with the present cone developing over older volcanic structures.
The mountain last erupted in 1707, during the Edo period, in an event known as the Hōei eruption. Ash from that eruption reached areas around Edo, now Tokyo. Despite its volcanic history, Fuji is not currently classified as extinct.
Mount Fuji has long been important in Japanese art, religion, and pilgrimage. Its symmetrical snow-capped profile appears in Katsushika Hokusai’s famous Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji. The mountain and the surrounding cultural sites became a UNESCO World Heritage cultural site in 2013.