Mt. Fuji has been worshipped over for thousands of years, even before this island nation was called Japan, beginning with the First Nation’s People, the Ainu. The Ainu understood Mt. Fuji’s inherent cultural and spiritual value. Mt. Fuji is an active volcano representing something larger and more meaningful than the nation itself. It’s almost like this symbol of Nippon carries a calling card for people to pilgrimage to at least once to view its splendor in the natural world, and enjoy some forest bathing (森林浴 shinrin yoku). The Ainu know this and lend the appropriate reverence to Japan’s iconic peak. Other parts of Japan, such as capital cities have changed through the ages. Nara was the first capital city of Japan, then Kyoto, and now Tokyo. With every age, it seems the nation’s capital city changes to reflect a new focus of power and interest for the people of the nation. In the year 864, Mt. Fuji erupted for 10 consecutive days casting cinders and ash as far away as Edo Bay. Fujisan became a sacred volcanic peak because the powers that be were dumbstruck for an explanation why Fujisan was erupting for over a week.  So they asked their spiritual guides at the time Shinto priests to interpret the guiding force behind the continuing volume of the lava flow.  “Well,” from that day forward Mt. Fuji has been the properly of Fujisan Hongu Sengen Taisha, which is the owner of over thirteen hundred shrines and temples across Japan.  From the base of FujiSan to around the Five lakes and to the summit there are shrines and temples dedicated solely to this iconic volcanic peak.  Interestingly, the paperwork or the deed of ownership to the temple was never made official by the Japanese government, so it rightfully belongs to the people.  The 864 eruptions and lava flow phenomenon created the Aokigahara Forest, The Sea of Trees; it’s a phenomenal, legendary forest that spans two thousand and four hundred hectares across the Northwest base of Mt. Fuji. My recommendations always come rooted in the form of personal experience, and Mt. Fuji and its surrounding area are no different.  I know Mt. Fuji, the Five lakes and the surrounding region like the back of my hand, as its very close to my first home in Japan, and I have spent years exploring and leading photography expeditions in the region.  On my last autumn in Mt. Fuji photo workshop, a participant, Paul K. from Victoria, Canada,  joined two photo workshops while visiting Japan.  The first was in Kyoto, and the second was my annual Mt. Fuji Autumn Leaves nature tour photo workshop.  While we were photographing in a huge zen garden off the beaten path, Paul asked me a question about the meaning of wood carvings and stone statutes that are in and around the shrines and temple complex, some of which are national treasures.  The female licensed Japanese guide on his first tour commented when viewing similar carvings at a temple in Kyoto, a temple that I am familiar with, saying that there was ‘good’ and ‘bad’ karma in the Japanese thinking regarding these carvings, “and?” I asked Paul expecting more,” that was it!” “Paul said!”  ‘WoW’, you could have blown me over with a feather when I heard about Paul’s experience.  I was dumbstruck by her evaluation because that’s how I would express the concept to an elementary school aged child, not to someone who is past the age of puberty, especially not to a client who was paying top dollar on my photo workshop and rightfully expecting authentic, untold stories of Japan. The carvings this run of the mill tour guide was referring to are expressions of spirituality (Reiji Holy Spiritual Animals) as well as scholarly and philosophical-mystical beings of Buddhist, Shinto and The First Nations Japanese Ainu folklores, it took me about 30 minutes to explain their foundation representations to Paul and the rest of the group, while we continued photographing, and I even got to point out a few hidden cyphers that are only present in the candle light in the blue hour.