Mountain Day

Mountain day is Japan's newest holiday, intended for citizens to get familiar with mountains and appreciate the blessings from mountains. Mountain Day is celebrated August 11th and was established after the Japanese Alpine Club and other groups lobbied for the bill. They proposed that Japan was greatly influenced by mountains, from Shinto culture to the fact that 70% of Japan's land mass is comprised of mountains. There are many popular activities such as hiking and skiing done on many of Japan's mountains, which is why these groups believed we should celebrate mountains and peaks.

Celebrated on August 11th, some believe that to be the perfect date because the kanji for eight (八) in Japanese looks like a mountain. Currently, there are no special ways to celebrate Mountain Day given the relatively new status it has as a national holiday. With that in mind, Japan Deluxe Tours has a few recommendations as to how to enjoy the holiday:

• Skiing or snowboarding in Nagano
• Hiking in Hokkaido's National Parks
• Visit Mt. Fuji's Visitor Center in Hakone
• Visit Japan's Winter Olympics Sites & Stadiums