【Summer Vacation Drive】 Transparent spring water and thatched landscapes! Reset your daily life at Oshino Hakkai in Yamanashi

When you are busy with daily life, you suddenly feel the urge to take a deep breath in nature. Driven by that feeling, I drove to Oshino Hakkai in Yamanashi Prefecture.

To the stillness of Oshino Hakkai! Let's get away from the busy daily life

Oshino Hakkai, located at the foot of Mount Fuji, is registered as one of the components of the World Heritage Site "Mount Fuji," and is a nature-rich scenic spot scattered with highly transparent spring water ponds.

On this day, it was a bit cloudy, but it was bustling with tourists, yet there was a calm atmosphere flowing somewhere. I parked my car in an unmanned parking lot about a 2-minute walk from Oshino Hakkai.

The fee is 300 yen for the day. It has a tranquil style of simply putting money in a post, bringing a sense of travel.

I took a stroll around what was once a lake, Oshino Hakkai.

Oshino Hakkai is said to be the remnants of a large lake that was once called "Utsuko." The lake transformed due to eruptions from Mount Fuji, eventually drying up and becoming the current basin, but the snow and rain that fall on Mount Fuji seep into the underground lava layers, and the spring water that has been filtered over more than 20 years still bubbles up as eight ponds.

Even on cloudy days, the water is crystal clear, and on sunny days, it is even more surreal.

Although it was a bit cloudy on this day, the spring water was perfectly clear, and aquatic plants and swimming fish could be seen clearly.

By the way, when I visited a few years ago on a sunny day, the water was even more vividly clear, breathtaking in its beauty. On clear days, the silhouette of Mount Fuji can reflect on the water's surface, creating a scene that looks like a mirror.

An iPhone sinking in a pond 8 meters deep? The clarity is astonishing.

One of the ponds we visited is said to have a depth of 8 meters, and when peering into the bottom, something resembling an iPhone was found submerged. Someone may have accidentally dropped it.

Due to the remarkable clarity, it stands out distinctly in the calm blue that doesn’t give the impression of depth. The children curiously peer at the water's surface.

The natural mechanisms supporting the high level of transparency

The water temperature of the spring-fed pond remains around 10 degrees Celsius throughout the year, feeling cool even in the summer. Particularly, the "Yuike" has a large outflow, and in the center of the pond, water is bubbling continuously, creating small bubbles on the surface.

A blue sparkling sandy bottom spreads out, and the movement of aquatic plants can be clearly seen. Each pond has an extremely high clarity, reflecting even the shadows at your feet. It's no surprise that they are selected as one of the "Japan's Hundred Selected Waters" and as natural monuments due to their beauty.

The cool water you scoop with your hands is delicious! There are also souvenir shops here

Around the pond, I saw people filling tanks with spring water to take home.

I scooped up some right there and took a sip. It was cool and had an surprisingly smooth flavor. It felt like I was absorbing the power of the water that nature has polished over many years into my body.

There were temporary-looking stalls and small souvenir shops lined up in the surrounding area.

It felt like something I had seen before, or maybe not. There was a vending machine for commemorative medals exclusive to Oshino Hakkai, and

The landscape with thatched-roof buildings and water mills remains, and just walking through it evokes a nostalgic feeling.

The original scenery of Japan that can reset your heart is here

The transparent world of spring water, and the quietly breathing history and faith. I felt that this is the perfect place to reset your heart when you want to distance yourself a bit from everyday life.

Since it is relatively accessible from the Kanto region, how about considering it as a day trip during summer vacation?

Oshino Hakkai
Location / Oshino Village, Minamitsuru District, Yamanashi Prefecture

Interview and text / SYURI

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