Blast from the Past: Waving from such great heights aka Conquering Mt. Fuji
I was told by the ever-so-awesome Shar (mmm-fruit.com/) that today is Mt. Fuji Day. The 2-2-3 of the date sounds similar to saying Fuji-san 富士山, or Mt. Fuji. So to honor this day I decided to make my lazy self actually write up my experience on climbing it. It only took me 7 months after the fact, but better late than never yes?
The climbing season for Mt. Fuji is between July and September. I went with Okayama and Hiroshima AJET to do a night hike in order to see the sunrise at the summit. Well, that was the plan for most of us anyway. We left Okayama station around 10 AM and arrived at the Kawaguchiko 5th station around 8-8:30 PM. Mt. Fuji has 8 stations (plus the 8.5) where climbers can stop and the 5th station is where all the tour buses stop and pretty much where everyone starts. My group took the Yoshida-guchi Route to the summit and back.
Ohh so innocent. Little did we know the pain that awaited us...
Mt. Fuji is no joke. Prior to the trip, I heard horror stories from previous climbers: from the agony of the climb to how they couldn't finish due to oxygen deprivation, etc. Japanese people I told would do a double take then proceed to give me that look you would probably get when they know you're going to your doom. Despite the warnings though I was stoked! Not many people can say 'I climbed Mt. Fuji', right? It was only when I was on the bus and we saw Fuji looming over us that I wondered what the hell I got myself into....
Yet somehow, I survived. By the 7th station the path gets pretty steep. Around 8 and 8.5 station I remember having to use my hands to navigate and climb up. But it was worth it.
With my group's pace our hike to the summit took about 8 hours.
Sadly I wasn't able to be at the actual summit on sunrise; my group was still at 8.5 which is the last station before the summit. My group figured this was good enough. We ended up going to the summit after (since we were already up there), and there was quite a long line. After we had enough omiyage shopping and looking around the crater, we headed back down which was probably the most brutal, painful thing I've ever done. No one says anything about the way *down*! The path is so steep you practically running down the whole time and it puts so much pressure on your knees and feet! I was practically in tears near the end. I was so shocked that the descent was more difficult than the climb!
Everything turned out fine because we rewarded ourselves with lunch and bath at Fujiyama onsen. Utter. Bliss. We were a bit late leaving Mt. Fuji so we didn't have a lot of time to spend in the onsen, but it was enough.
For anyone who plans on taking the challenge that is Mt. Fuji. Here's the gear and other things I brought with me:
CLOTHES:
Top: Heat-tech, Under-Armor, a hoodie, winter jacket, rain jacket
Bottom: leggings, thermal leggings (long johns), wind breaker pants, snowboard pants
Feet: hiking socks and shoes
Etc.: Gloves, kairo (heat packs, both to put on clothes and the ones you just hold), headlight (a MUST if doing the night hike)
EQUIPMENT:
first aid kit
snacks: I brought onigiri and a whole bunch of energy bars. Other people in my group brought nuts and dried fruit and we pretty much shared. Don't forget water!!
toilet paper
trash bags: for your own and for your clothes after the hike
sunblock
waterproof cover for your bag
towel
Just make sure to layer for this hike. Mt. Fuji is 3775 meters high and even though I hiked in July there was still snow covering the lip of the crater. Don't bring/eat a full meal once you're up there since you don't want to be too full while hiking up. The bathrooms throughout the hike are what you would expect in a public area so bring some tissues/toilet paper if you can. Try and avoid the bathroom at the summit though, that was just...ugh. I also brought an oxygen can, but in the end I didn't use it since the elevation didn't really affect me, but it did affect some of the other JETs so bringing one is up to the climber.
Mt. Fuji was definitely worth the challenge! Even afterwards where I nearly cried every time I saw a flight of stairs! If you have the chance (and the guts) then you should go for it!
Happy 富士山の日!
The walking stick I purchased at the 5th station. You can brand the stick at each station as you ascend. I didn't get all of them sadly, but I got the one that counts!
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