Devotion to Mount Fuji spread widely in the Edo period, but few people could actually make the climb. It cost time and money, and until late in the period women were barred outright. So they built Fuji in the neighbourhood — the fujizuka. Climbing one was held to earn the same merit as climbing the mountain itself.
More than sixty survive in Tokyo. Far fewer can actually be climbed, and the terms differ from one to the next. This piece sets out those terms.
The oldest — Sendagaya
Sendagaya Fuji千駄ヶ谷の富士塚（鳩森八幡神社）
Shibuya
Built 1789. A Tokyo Metropolitan folk cultural property. Climbable any day.
The oldest surviving mound in Tokyo. It was repaired after the 1923 earthquake but kept its original form, which is the stated reason for its designation. Earth is heaped into a rounded barrow, with lava from Fuji laid only near the top.
What you only learn on the ground
- The shrine says you may climb at any time — except during festivals, cleaning, pruning and the May firelight Noh
- There is no lighting. The shrine asks visitors to come in daylight
- A separate seal is issued to those who reach the top (500 yen). The desk works 9 to 5
- Sources give the height as six metres, or seven
The tallest — Shinagawa
Shinagawa Fuji品川富士（品川神社 富士塚）
Shinagawa
About fifteen metres, the tallest in Tokyo. Raised 1869, rebuilt 1872.
Roughly fifteen metres high and a hundred round, raised by some three hundred confraternity members. What stands today is not the original shape: the eastern flank was cut away for the Daiichi-Keihin highway.
What you only learn on the ground
- The shrine sits on high ground. The mound has its own entrance, left of the main steps
- Partway up the slope sharpens and a chain appears. Slippery the day after rain
- Stone markers run from the first station to the ninth
- The confraternity holds the mountain-opening rite in early July
Open two days — Jujo
Jujo Fujizuka十条冨士塚（十条冨士神社）
Kita
About 5.8 metres. Climbable only during the festival on 30 June and 1 July.
The mound is closed the rest of the year; climbing is permitted only over the two festival days timed to the opening of Fuji. The ward gives the hours as nine to eight, with climbing ending at eight.
What you only learn on the ground
- There is an order to it: carry incense up, throw it into the concrete vessel before the summit shrine — a stand-in for the burning cauldron — then bow
- Among the ward-area mountain openings, this one draws a large turnout of stalls
- Road widening meant the entire mound was moved back in 2023. Older photographs show it elsewhere
Open about three days — Ekoda
Ekoda Fujizuka江古田の富士塚（浅間神社）
Nerima
Built 1839, about eight metres — among the largest in Tokyo. A nationally designated folk property.
Of the sixty-odd mounds in Tokyo, only five carry the national designation, and this is one. It is kept closed for conservation.
What you only learn on the ground
- Climbing is allowed on 1–3 January, 1 July (9am to about 3pm) and the second weekend of September only
- The surface is faced with genuine lava carried from the mountain
- It stands directly outside the north exit of Ekoda Station, making it the easiest to reach
In short — when you can go
| Place | Height | When you can climb |
|---|
| Sendagaya (Shibuya) | approx. 6–7 m | Any day, barring events |
| Shinagawa (Shinagawa) | approx. 15 m | Any day |
| Jujo (Kita) | approx. 5.8 m | 30 Jun, 1 Jul |
| Ekoda (Nerima) | approx. 8 m | 1–3 Jan, 1 Jul, 2nd weekend of Sep |
Which means that on 1 July all four are open at once — the day the real mountain opens. Jujo and Ekoda draw crowds then, so if you want quiet, save Sendagaya and Shinagawa for another day.
Opening days and hours shift a little year to year. Please confirm before travelling.