Oshino Hakkai

Snow melting on Fuji sinks into the mountain's porous lava and travels through it for something on the order of decades before emerging in this basin, and the filtering is what produces the water: cold, constant at about twelve degrees, and clear enough that the plants and fish several metres down look like they are just under the surface. Eight ponds are spread across the village, some in front of thatched houses, and the whole group is a designated natural monument and part of the Fujisan UNESCO inscription as a site of religious purification - pilgrims washed here before climbing. Wakuike, the deepest, is on a paid site with a museum. The village is small, the ponds are close together, and two hours covers it. On clear days Fuji stands directly behind the thatched roofs, which is why it is on every itinerary between the lakes.

The landscape

• Decades-old water - Fuji snowmelt filtered through lava before emerging here.
• Extreme clarity - fish and plants metres down appearing just below the surface.
• Eight ponds - spread through a village of thatched houses.
• A purification site - part of the Fujisan UNESCO inscription for the pilgrim washing.

When to go

November to February for Fuji behind the roofs; all year for the water. Two hours.

Practical notes

It is small and very crowded - coach parties fill the paths through the middle of the day. Much of the village is souvenir stalls. One pond is behind a paid gate. Fuji is often hidden.

Nearby

Kawaguchiko is west; Yamanakako is south.

Key facts