For Today’s Japan Photo, we will enjoy the lovely sunrise as seen from Lake Motosu 本栖湖, one of Fuji Five Lakes. The lake is so calm and relaxing and you can see the majestic Mount Fuji in the background.

Interestingly, the water temperature of Lake Motosu never gets below 39o F, making it the only one of the five lakes which does not freeze in winter.

Image Credit: mochizuki flickr

For Today’s Japan Photo, we take a look at an interesting sight where an interesting formation of clouds gathered on top of Mount Fuji, which makes it seem as if it was wearing a white hat.

Image Credit: MSN Sankei

Here’s the description of the photo taken from Mainichi Japan as well:

The first sunrise of 2011 peaks over the clouds behind Mt. Fuji in this photo taken from a Japan Airlines flight on Jan. 1. Carrying 173 passengers, the special flight was specifically for watching the rising sun. (Mainichi)

This perfect show was captured using a Nikon D50 by liveanoptimisticlife. I just love the different shades of blue and orange in the sky, which is also caught in the lake reflections. It does really give you a warm feeling of serenity.

This lovely snow scene was captured by Christopher Chan. I think if you didn’t know about Mount Yōtei 羊蹄山, you might mistaken it for Mount Fuji since the two mountains are roughly similar in shape.

Mount Yōtei (羊蹄山 Yōteizan?) is an active stratovolcano located in Shikotsu-Toya National Park, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is also called ‘Yezo Fuji or Ezo Fuji (蝦夷富士?), because it resembles the more famous Mount Fuji. The mountain is also known as Makka Nupuri (マツカリヌプリ?) and Mount Shiribeshi (後方羊蹄山 Shiribeshi-Yama?). It is one of the 100 famous mountains in Japan.

This great looking black and white photo was taken by Kasugai Sean. I just love the composition whereby he managed to capture the man in the boat somewhere right in the middle of the lake, while the majestic Mount Fuji looms in the background.

Here’s a little more information on the lake:

Lake Ashi (芦ノ湖 Ashino-ko?), or Hakone Lake, Ashinoko Lake, is a scenic lake in the Hakone area of Kanagawa Prefecture in Honshū, Japan. It is a crater lake that lies along the southwest wall of the caldera of Mount Hakone, a complex volcano. The lake is known for its views of Mt. Fuji and its numerous hot springs. Several pleasure boats and ferries traverse the lake, providing scenic views for tourists and passengers. One of the boats is a full-scale replica of a man-of-war pirate ship.

Most visitors to Lake Ashi stay in the nearby resorts or visit some of the local attractions, including taking the aerial tram Hakone Ropeway to The Great Boiling Valley. From Togendai on Lake Ashi, the Hakone Ropeway aerial tram connects to Sounzan, the upper terminus of the Hakone Tozan Cable Car funicular railway. This in turn connects to the Hakone Tozan Line mountain railway for the descent to Odawara and a connection to Tokyo by the Tōkaidō Shinkansen.

This great shot was taken by miwa** using long exposure so you can actually see the trails of the stars in the night sky. I just love how she managed to capture the reflection of Mount Fuiji onto the lake even at night.

However, today’s photo is actually a screenshot of this wonderful time-lapse video. I don’t think I need to say anything more while you sit back and enjoy the breathtaking video.

Its just amazing to see the peak poking out above the clouds. Makes me feel like jumping off a plane and parachuting all the way down and maybe try to land on the peak.

A little more information on Mount Fuji [富士山]:

Mount Fuji is a distinctive feature of the geography of Japan. It stands 3,776 m (12,388 ft) high and is located near the Pacific coast of central Honshū, just west of Tokyo.

It straddles the boundary of Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures. Three small cities surround it: Gotemba to the south, Fujiyoshida to the north, and Fujinomiya to the southwest. It is also surrounded by five lakes: Lake Kawaguchi, Lake Yamanaka, Lake Sai, Lake Motosu and Lake Shoji. They, and nearby Lake Ashi, provide excellent views of the mountain. The mountain is part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. It can be seen more distantly from Yokohama, Tokyo, and sometimes as far as Chiba, Saitama, and Lake Hamana when the sky is clear.

The climate is very cold due to the altitude, and the cone is covered by snow for several months of the year. The lowest recorded temperature is −38.0 °C while on June 2008 the highest temperature was recorded at 17.8 °C.

The photo is taken off Mainichi JP, the bright red flowers in the foreground really complement to the majestic Mount Fuji in the background. And the weather is really great that we can clearly see the entire Mount Fuji. The location of the shot is Hananomiyako Park in the Yamanashi Prefecture village of Yamanakako.

A little more information on Mount Fuji [富士山]:

Mount Fuji [富士山] is the highest mountain in Japan at 3,776 m. Along with Mount Tate and Mount Haku, it is one of Japan’s “Three Holy Mountains” [三霊山].

Mount Fuji is just west of Tokyo, and can be seen on a clear day. Mount Fuji’s exceptionally symmetrical cone is a well-known symbol of Japan and it is frequently depicted in art and photographs, as well as visited by sightseers and climbers.

A well-known Japanese saying suggests that anybody would be a fool not to climb Mount Fuji once—but a fool to do so twice.