Gold Mt Fuji

With Mt. Fuji having recently been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site on June 22, souvenir makers have rushed to cash in on the mountain’s new found fame offering everything from rice bowls to beer glasses crafted in the shape of the iconic volcano.

Not to be outdone, jeweler Ginza Tanaka recently began offering Mt. Fuji replicas containing 3,776g of pure 24k gold for 28.6 million yen; that’s a little over a quarter of a million US dollars! The odd weight pays homage to the official height of Mt. Fuji (3,776m). If the unbelievable price is somewhat out your range, a pure silver version is also available for a more reasonable two million yen ($20,000).

With Tanaka buying gold at about $43.41 a gram and selling the Fuji piece at $65 a gram, you’re paying a hefty premium to have the metal shaped into a mountain. For those worried about Abe’s plan to destroy the yen, Tanaka also offers Vienna Philharmonic and Canadian Maple Leaf gold coins in weights from 0.1oz to 1oz. These might be a better bet if you want to retain some purchasing power in the years ahead.

maple leafs

Source: mynavi
Images: Ginza Tanaka