Day 3 of Our Hakone & Lake Kawaguchi Self-Drive Trip
Over the next few days, our family plans to visit all five of the Fuji Five Lakes. We’ve already been to the first one — Lake Motosuko — and today we’re heading to the smallest of the five, Lake Shojiko, to enjoy its scenic beauty.
We parked our car at a lot near Lake Shojiko. At first, we weren’t sure where parking was allowed. There seemed to be plenty of empty spaces, but the ones in front of Shoji Mount Hotel looked reserved for hotel guests. So, we decided to park in front of a small cafe by the woods. Just as I finished parking, another self-driving tourist suddenly pulled in right next to us.
After parking, we walked for about one minute down the slope across the road and arrived at Lake Shojiko. In front of us stood a large sign showing the lake’s stats: elevation 900m, depth 15.2m, area 0.5 km², and circumference 6.8 km. Even though it’s the smallest of the Fuji Five Lakes, it still felt quite large. There was an elevated observation platform nearby—perhaps used by lifeguards during water activities, equipped with binoculars to watch over the lake.
Our family sat leisurely on a bench by the lakeshore — not sure who placed it there — simply gazing at the distant Mount Fuji surrounded by clouds. In front of it stood a smaller mountain called Mount Oshino. It’s different from the one with the same name in Izu. From Lake Shojiko’s perspective, the two mountains overlap, forming the beautiful “Mother-and-Child Mount Fuji” view — a sight you can only witness here.
↑Here we were, sitting and lying by the peaceful Lake Shojiko, completely relaxed. It felt wonderful to be on vacation here. Even though it was summer, the temperature was pleasantly mild.
After staying for about 15 minutes, we continued on to our next destination — another of the Fuji Five Lakes, Lake Saiko. On our way back up the slope to where we parked, we noticed that cars could actually drive down this slope too, but we decided not to take the easy route. Along the roadside, there was also a stone monument engraved with a poem titled “Autumn Rain,” which is related to Lake Shojiko. It suggests that the scenery here must be even more stunning in autumn.
Lake Shojiko(精進湖)
Map：
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- If you want to learn about Mt Fuji, first visit the Mt Fuji World Heritage Centre in Shizuoka Prefecture