Boasting the greatest height of domestic single peak mountains in the country, Mount Fuji is loved as a sightseeing attraction representative of Japan throughout the world. In fact, over 300,000 mountaineers flock to it every year.

Every year, thousands of hikers make the grueling trek for a view unlike any other atop Japan’s iconic Mt. Fuji.

How have sakura, or cherry blossoms, become the unofficial symbol of Japanese nature?