Fujinomiya

Fujinomiya is a city in central Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, on an upland plateau on the foothills and lower slopes of Mount Fuji. Its name comes from the former name of the shrine Fujisan Hongu Sengen Taisha, around which an ancient town grew, and the sanctuary of Taiseki-ji, headquarters of Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism, stands nearby. Much of the city lies within Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park and part of the Mount Fuji summit lies within its borders, so it is one of the main starting points for climbs. In 1860 the British consul Sir Rutherford Alcock made the first recorded ascent of the mountain by a non-Japanese person from here. The modern city was established on 1 June 1942, expanded through mergers in 1955 and 1956, and absorbed Shibakawa in 2010.