Traditional ``torii'' gates at the summit, guarded by statues of snarling lion-dogs,
mark Fuji's sacred ground. On opposite sides of the mountain's deep brown crater stand two concrete Shinto shrines.

Glittering amulets and little tin bells deposited for luck by climbers young and old are
piled around each shrine. Coins are stuck into cracks in the weather-beaten gray wood
of the gates.