Tips for a photo session with Mt. Fuji

Taking pictures with Mt Fuji, the symbol of Japan

At 3,776 meters, Mt. Fuji is Japan's highest mountain.

The nearly perfectly shaped volcano has been worshiped as a sacred mountain throughout the centuries.

We also often visit Mt. Fuji area for clients from overseas, mostly in Kawaguchiko area.

Like this photograph from this Spring, I get asked to capture a proposal moment.

But did you know that the a view of Mt. Fuji is not always visible and sometimes hard to capture?

I always tell my clients that Mt. Fuji is very fickle, and depending on the season, it is hard to capture.  So if you want to take pictures with this beautiful mountain in the background, here are some tips that I need to tell you.

To capture Mt. Fuji, season matters

Depending on weather conditions and humidities around Mt. Fuji, virility changes.  Among professional photographers, December - February offers the best view.  

Fuji City Hall in Shizuoka Prefecture has been conducting daily observations since 1991 and making the records available to the public.

Looking at the total number of days over the past 13 years, the months when Mt. Fuji can be seen the most are from October to February, and the months when Mt. Fuji is visible are the least from June to August.

Here is the graph showing percentage of Mt. Fuji view by calculated by months.

Green shows days partially visible

Pink is entirely visible

Yes, January or February is cold, and no green available.  In my case, early April is the most popular time for my client, with proposal or wedding dress photo.  So, can we do it?  Absolutely.  But you should think about time.

Time matters for capturing the view of Mt. Fuji

If you want to take photos of Mt. Fuji, the second thing to keep in mind is the time limit.

The best time to see Mt. Fuji clearly is in the morning when the air is clear. It often becomes difficult to see in the distance after 10am.

I would say earlier is better.   If you can wake up very early, I would say take pictures at 5 or 6 am when the sunrise.   

Last year, this professional model from Indonesia asked me to take pictures of the Mt. Fuji in the best time possible.  So, I left home 3:30 am (from Tokyo), and started taking pictures around 6.

The view was remarkable.

You can view more photo from this page

Well, for most of people, waking up 5 am and taking pictures at 6 am is not realistic. 

Still, you want to choose before 10 am, for a higher chance of taking pictures with beautiful Mt. Fuji. It takes about two hours from Tokyo to Kawaguchiko, foot of Mt. Fuji. So the best choice is staying at a hotel in Kawaguchiko area.

There are many good hotels there, or even hostels if you want to save money.

OK, let’s get back to my couple that I photographed earlier this month.    Here is Richard and Rosemary from Los Angeles.  

Richard lived in Japan for many years when in his childhood.  His fiancé, also loved Japanese culture so much.   So, Mt. Fuji was the ideal place  to pledge his love with surprise.

When photographing at Mt. Fuji, I always pay close attention to the weather forecast.

The weather forecast was okay until 5 days ago, but it suddenly changed from 2 days ago. It was likely to rain from 10 am.

So, I told him to change the plan, to move up the start time by about an hour.　

It was the right move, as I was able to take photos with Mt. Fuji for just first 30 minutes. After that, it was all raining entire day.

Taking pictures with Sakura and Mt. Fuji together

The most popular time to visit Kawaguchiko is early April, when sakura, or cherry blossom blooms.  That was why Richard reserved us on April 3rd, when sakura was fully bloomed in previous area.   However, because of the continued cold winter this year, the cherry blossoms were slow to bloom, and there were not even any buds on the shooting day.

So, we drove about one hour to other side of the mountain, Kofu city.  There we had a park sakura was fully bloomed in contrast, and managed to capture their beautiful moments. 

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About bozphoto & styles

We’re a photo team based in Japan, here to capture your adventures—whether you’re proposing, celebrating, or just exploring together.

From the streets of Tokyo to the views of Mt. Fuji, we love traveling across Japan to create natural, meaningful images of your time here.

If you’re ready to turn your trip into something truly unforgettable, we’d love to be part of it.

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