Lake Shojiko

Bordering Aokigahara Forest on its southern side, Lake Shojiko is the smallest of the Fuji Five Lakes, and was dubbed the “Switzerland of East Asia” by visiting Englishmen during the Meiji era (1868-1912) for its uniquely beautiful views of Mount Fuji. The surrounding area is less developed than the other lakes in terms of tourist infrastructure, which gives it a tranquil and relatively untouched feel.

Lake Shojiko is the third deepest of the Five Lakes with a maximum water depth of 15.2 meters. Its surface elevation of 900 meters is identical to that of Lake Motosuko and Lake Saiko, indicating that these three lakes were originally a single lake. They were formed as the result of a massive eruption of Mt. Fuji in the year 864, when an enormous lava flow filled the large prehistoric lake and separated it into three bodies of water. The remnants of the lava formed the base of the present-day Aokigahara Forest, and evidence suggests that the three lakes remain connected by underground waterways.

Lake Shojiko offers the visitor a rather unusual view of Mt. Fuji, where the iconic mountain appears to be looming over a smaller mountain in front of its northwestern foot. The smaller peak is Mt. Omuro, one of the many extinct volcanoes of Mt. Fuji. It faintly resembles Fuji in miniature, earning it the nickname kodaki-Fuji or “Fuji Cradling a Child.” The mountain’s crater is 500 meters in diameter and is 22 meters deep at its summit.