Shosenkyo is a scenic gorge on the outskirts of Kofu, popular with visitors during the autumn season, but equally enjoyable at other times of year.  There is a 4 km hiking path with two entry points, so you can walk either the whole four kilometers, or just one – the last, most scenic section. That is, if you are arriving by bus – I don’t think there’s anywhere to park at the entrance to the last section (or maybe the lot is so tiny that I just missed it), so it’s either park down and walk up, or vise-versa.

I chose to drive up to the upper parking lot, which technically is the exit, and walk down a bit into the gorge, taking pictures of the beautiful Sengataki waterfall.

The same upper parking lot also serves as parking for the Shosenkyo ropeway, which takes you to the observation point where Mt Fuji can be seen on a clear day. On the day of my visit the weather was perfect.

When I got back to the parking lot it was already past 4 pm and the numerous souvenir stall were closing. With nothing left to do here I headed to my hotel, Kaminoyu Onsen, to catch some more Fuji views from the hot spring bath.