As the sun sets over a small patch of the Nippori district of Tokyo's northeastern Arakawa Ward, people can often be seen stopping to gaze to the West — something not so surprising atop a street named Fujimizaka, which means "Mount Fuji Viewing Slope."
However, for anyone who happens upon this spot without realizing its unique status in the metropolis, a plaque points out that, away in the direction of the setting sun, Japan's most iconic mountain can (on a clear day) be seen rising in its conical 3,776-meter glory some 100 km away.
Even for those too busy to stop, though, at least glancing that way seems to be part of life on Nippori's Fujimizaka, and the view of Japan's highest mountain that straddles Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures is always a topic of conversation there.
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