Hikers lighting up the mountain side also make for a great spectacle

Jul 19, 2013 22:51 GMT  ·  By

Mt. Fuji holds a very special place in the Japanese culture and it's one of the main symbols of the country, both for the Japanese and for the world. Unsurprisingly, it's also one of the most photographed landmarks on the planet.

Few of the photos are quite as beautiful as this one showing the Milky Way "erupting" straight out of the volcano.

It's not just the night sky that looks gorgeous. There are a few more interesting details as well, like the stream of hikers climbing the peak to catch the sunrise, their flashlights creating a "light lava flow" down the mountain.

"When I arrived at Fujiyoshida in Yamanashi Prefecture, I saw people climbing up Mt. Fuji with flash lights and I thought they looked like lava streams. Then I came up with this composition," photographer Yuga Kurita shared on Google+.

Quite recently, the mountain was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, something Google celebrated with a doodle.