Mt.+Fuji

**Mount Fuji**
Mount Fuji is a very famous symbol of Japan. It is found very frequently in Japanese art work and literature because of its beauty, especially when it is snow capped in the winter. Mount Fuji has always been thought of as a sacred place in Japan, and is known around the whole world. Mt. Fuji is named "Fuji" because of how sacred it is to the Japanese. A book from the 10th century said that "Fuji" came from "Fushi", which meant immortal. Nobody could ever be sure though, because other sources say that the name came from 不二 (not + two) meaning //nonparallel,//and 不尽 (//not + to exaust//), meaning //neverending.// Mount Fuji is located west of Tokyo near the Pacific coast of the center of Japan.

Mount Fuji's first climb by a foreigner was by Sir Rutherford Alcock a British Diplomat who climbed it in 1860. Mount Fuji was painted in Hokusai's book //The 36 Views of Mount Fuji.// It is 12,389 feet tall and even though it isn't the ranked in the top 100 tallest mountains it is still a major symbol of the country. The mountain is surrounded by five lakes. The lowest and highest recorded temperatures were −38.0 °C, being the lowest; 17.8 °C being the highest. Mount Fuji is an active volcano, but has not erupted since the 1700's. Mount Fuji is visible from Tokyo. There are 37 different mammals that inhabit Mount Fuji including the Japanese Serow, which is a goat antelope. One fourth of the birds in Japan live around Mount Fuji, including the Japanese Thrush. The official climbing season of Mount Fuji is only two months ranging from July to August. The Japanese Serow.