Lake Motosuko

Lake Motosuko, the westernmost and least developed of the Fuji Five Lakes, lies about 20 kilometers west of Kawaguchiko Station and is reached by Fujikyu bus in roughly 45 to 60 minutes, transferring at Saiko or taking a direct seasonal service depending on the timetable. The lake is best known internationally as the view depicted on the reverse of the older 1,000 yen banknote, a scene captured from the Koanso viewpoint on the lake's northwestern shore, where a still, snow-capped Mount Fuji rises directly across the deep blue water with almost no development in the frame; the observation deck at nearby Nakanokura Pass, a short walk above the shore, offers the closest match to the banknote composition and is a modest uphill walk of about 20 to 30 minutes from the lakeside road. Motosuko is Japan's deepest of the Fuji Five Lakes and keeps a wilder, quieter character than Kawaguchiko or Yamanakako, with a smaller cluster of campgrounds, a handful of lakeside cafes, and clear, cold water considered among the best in the group for its transparency. Visitors come primarily for photography and quiet lakeside walks rather than the swimming and boating scene found at the busier lakes, though the shore does have a few small swimming and paddling areas near the campgrounds in July and August. A typical visit combines the drive or bus ride out with a short walk up to the Koanso and Nakanokura Pass viewpoints, followed by a slow circuit of the lakeside road, which has far less traffic and fewer facilities than Kawaguchiko's shoreline. Because the banknote view depends on both clear skies and calm water, early winter and autumn mornings, when wind is lightest, typically produce the sharpest reflection.