Qualla: Camp Fuji

Camp Fuji: Introduction

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Alpsdake, CC BY-SA 4.0. The samurai who trained on the volcanic plains below Mount Fuji in the 15th century could never have imagined what would follow them. Today, U.S. Marines fire grenade launchers across the same terrain where warriors of the Kamakura Shogunate once practiced mounted archery. Camp Fuji, a 309-acre Combined Arms Training Center near the small city of Gotemba in Shizuoka Prefecture, sits at the base of Japan's most iconic peak. It is a place where six centuries of military history have layered onto a single landscape, from medieval warlords to imperial armies to Cold War alliances -- all of it watched over by the snow-capped cone of Fuji-san.

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Image: Alpsdake | CC BY-SA 4.0

Camp Fuji: From Shogunate Grounds to Imperial Armies

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit User: (WT-shared) Jpatokal at wts wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. The military significance of the land around Camp Fuji predates the modern nation of Japan. Samurai of the Kamakura Shogunate conducted training exercises in the area as early as the 15th century, drawn by the broad, open terrain at Mount Fuji's eastern base. In the modern era, t...

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Image: User: (WT-shared) Jpatokal at wts wikivoyage | CC BY-SA 4.0

Camp Fuji: The American Takeover

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit No machine-readable author provided. Jungle assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0. When Japan surrendered in 1945, United States forces absorbed the Imperial Army's installations in the Fuji area. The main facility and its camps were renamed Camp Fuji McNair, North Camp, Middle Camp, and South Camp. In 1953, half of North Camp was turned over to the United Stat...

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Image: No machine-readable author provided. Jungle assumed (based on copyright claims). | CC BY-SA 3.0

Camp Fuji: Training at the Edge of the Mountain

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Marines from Arlington, VA, United States, Public domain. Camp Fuji exists for one purpose: to prepare Marines for combat. The facility includes 34 acres of ranges and maneuver area configured for combined arms training, where infantry, artillery, and air support exercises are coordinated. Units from across the Pacific rotate through, i...

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Image: Marines from Arlington, VA, United States | Public domain

Camp Fuji: In the Shadow of Fuji-san

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Department of Defense. American Forces Information Service. Defense Visual Information Center. 1994, Public domain. What makes Camp Fuji unlike any other Marine Corps installation is its backdrop. Mount Fuji, rising 3,776 meters above sea level, dominates the western horizon. On clear mornings, the mountain's symmetrical cone fills the sky beyond the firing ranges and barracks. The base sits w...

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Image: Department of Defense. American Forces Information Service. Defense Visual Information Center. 1994 | Public domain