My annual Essence of Autumn Photography workshop always includes Japan’s most iconic symbol Mt. Fuji. As does my annual Essence of Spring Cherry Blossom photo tour, as well as my annual Hokkaido Photo Tour.  In my opinion Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Parks in Japanese (富士箱根伊豆国立公園,) is a must visit for domestic and international travelers.  This national park was established on February 2, 1936, and is one of the first four national parks established in Japan, which consists of Mount Fuji, the Fuji Five Lakes, Hakone, Izu Peninsula, and the Izu Islands.  The park is spread out through three Prefectures, having countless outdoor activities, with a variety of geographic scenery and features such as, more than one thousand volcanic islands, the furthest point south is the isle of Hachijojima which is several hundred kilometers from the base of Mt. Fuji, and between the two points, are countless ancient pilgrimage routes, today hiking trails, hundreds of beaches, dozens of lakes, hundreds of rivers, streams, dozens of splendid waterfalls, plus the park has countess natural mineral healing hot springs.  Annually millions of visitors soak in the park’s hot springs for spiritual and mind-set health, similar to Shinrin-Yoku (forest bathing making contact with and taking in the atmosphere of the forest). Onsen (mineral hot springs) have been used for their medical healing benefits for thousands of years, and are said to benefit those with illnesses such as recovery from exhaustion, stress-related disorders, including sleep disorders, depression, hypertension, recovery from illness, muscle stiffness, neuralgia, muscle soreness and arthralgia, including back pain and rheumatism, plus many other ailments, the list goes on and on.  On this note all lodgings on my Japan photo tours have natural hot springs that Ryokan/hotel guests may use male and female bathe separately, and some lodgings have private hot springs that couples or singles may use and some lodgings have family size private onsens.  In Japan there are shower stalls each having a seat where you wash before entering the Onsen.  There are no bathing suits allowed in hot springs, but towels, soaps, washing towels are provided.  Also, there are even a few wild hot springs, where I pitch my tent, and enjoy hot springs under the moonlight and campfire. During my Hokkaido photography tour, we always visit Mt. Fuji to capture the iconic peak during golden hours. And during my Essence of Autumn Cross Country Photography Tour and my Essence of Spring Cherry Blossom Photography Tour, my team and me spend five days introducing participants to the Mt. Fuji region, included are the Fuji five lakes at the base of Mt. Fuji, the sea of trees (Aokigahara 樹海, Jukai), ice caves, waterfalls, power spots, Zen Buddhist Temple Sanctuaries, and Ancient Shinto Shrines, and we spend a couple of days exploring the Hakone region, as locals my team and me are able to avoid tourist pollution and introduce participants to authentic Japan.