Oshino Hakkai is a scenic spot located in Oshino Village, Minamitsuru District, Yamanashi Prefecture, where eight ponds fed by underground water from Mount Fuji.
Oshino Hakkai is famous for the clarity of its spring water, which is the result of decades of filtration of rain and snowmelt through lava layers on Mount Fuji.
Wakuike Pond (An underwater cave continues at the bottom of the pond.)
About Oshino Hakkai
Nigorike Pond and Mount Fuji
Oshino Village, where Oshino Hakkai is located, was once a huge lake called Lake Utsuko, which was divided into Lake Oshino and Lake Yamanaka after a major eruption in 800 by Mount Fuji.
Fuji’s subsequent eruptive activity caused Lake Oshino to dry up, but several ponds remained that were fed by subterranean water from Mount Fuji. And the representative spring pond is Oshino Hakkai.
Oshino Hakkai was once called “Fujisan Nemoto Hakko (Eight lakes at the base of Mount Fuji) Sacred Grounds”, and was one of the sacred places where people performed Misogi water ritual purification before climbing Mount Fuji.
Thus, Oshino Hakkai is connected to the belief in Mount Fuji, and is part of the heritage that makes up the World Heritage Site of Mount Fuji.
Deguchi Inari Daimyojin Shrine located near Deguchiike Pond
The eight ponds of Oshino Hakkai are named Deguchi Pond, Okama Pond, Sokonashi Pond, Choshi Pond, Wakuike Pond, Nigorike Pond, Kagamiike Pond, and Shobu Pond. (Sokonuki Pond is located on the grounds of the Hannokibayashi Museum, so an admission fee (300 yen) is required to visit.)
Each of the eight ponds is named after a dragon god, and there are legends and anecdotes about the ponds.
The popular Nakaike Pond is actually an artificial pond, not one of the eight ponds of Oshino Hakkai
Nakaike Pond
Oshino Hakkai also has restaurants, cafes, a souvenir shop, and a spot where visitors can draw spring water (drinkable) from Mount Fuji.
