There is a saying in Japan, "a wise man climbs Fuji once. A fool climbs it again." I don't claim to be wise but I don't want to be a fool, Mr. T would be so disappointed. It was a very tough climb and I'm more than happy to retire my Fuji walking stick.
Our (my friend Craig & I) grand trek started off a little bit shaky but like the noble mountain goat we were able to quickly regain our footing (cue the tumbling mountain goat scene from the Simpsons). First of all we met at the Big Man video screen in Umeda. If you don't know what this is... it's a giant video screen in the middle of a shopping arcade that is one of the most popular meeting spaces in Osaka. While Craig went to pick up some Subway subs for the trip I went to a discount ticket shop to buy some cheap shinkansen (bullet train) tickets. Just our luck, JR was having a special offer (of absolutely no use to us though) so the discount ticket shops were not allowed to sell any cheap tickets. So we'd have to pay the full fare. 残念
Then we hopped on the subway to take us to the shinkansen station. We were so busy talking about stuff (we're in the same Linguistics course) that we didn't realize we had gotten on the wrong subway and were heading the opposite direction. 10 minutes later we figured out our mistake and switch trains.
I had read up on the best route to Fuji and knew which stations we could get off the shink at. The bus to the mountain can be taken from either Shin-Fuji station or Mishima station. Shin Fuji was the closest of the 2 for us so we bought tickets for that. Once on the platform, however, we realized that Mishima was one of the stops on the express shinkansen so it would be much faster to get there. No problem, we'd go there and check out the bus schedule (which we didn't know yet).
Once at Mishima we decided to backtrack one station to Shin Fuji so we wouldn't have to pay an extra fee. A station attendent assured us that the bus stations had roughly the same number of busses and the similar schedules.
So we head back to Shin Fuji and find the nearby bus station. Turns out that the last bus to Fuji leaves here at 3:30 pm. Of course we get there at 4:30 pm. Soooo, we buy another ticket and get back on the shink to return to where we originally got off, Mishima, because the last bus leaves there at 5:30. After buying our bus tickets we had enough time to hit the local convenience store for some bottled water and essential snacks (read as Snickers bars).
We finally get on the bus and it's a 2 hour ride to Fujinomiya gogome, our starting point on Fuji. There was 1 other passenger on the bus, a European guy that we were sure was going to be stalking us all the way up the mountain. Nobody likes to climb alone.
At 7:30 pm we arrive at Fujinomiya gogome (5th station). It's located at about 2400 m up Fuji. Only real fools start at the base of the mountain.
Our Bus to Fuji. It was pretty dark.
There are little stations all the way up the mountain, 1 every hour or so. They generally include a sleeping area (5000 yen to sleep on a futon) and a pay toilet. You are also supposed to be able to get the name of the station you've reached burned onto the walking stick you purchased at station 5. However we found all the stations to be closed except for number 6.
I've climbed higher than Fuji when I was in Nepal so I wasn't worried about getting altitude sickness but my cardio wasn't what it should have been. The climb up wasn't all that steep, for the most part, but due to the altitude I was sucking wind most of the way. I set a slow pace from the beginning and stuck with it. Craig was a faster climber but I think the altitude caused him more discomfort than me. We'd read that the climb took anywhere from 4.5 - 6 hours and since we didn't need to reach the summit until about 5am for sunrise we could afford to take our time. We had decided early on that we were far too stingy to rent a futon to sleep on in any of the stations and that we would just rest outside each station we reached. Lots of others were doing this too. However, the wind was blowing very hard (sometimes we had to stop climbing for safety reasons) and the benches in front of the stations were all very exposed.
Station 7
So we would find areas off the trail that provided some cover and rest there. Eventually we were taking breaks after almost every 15 mins of hiking. The wind, cold, fatigue and darkness were a tough mix. A few times we stopped for nearly an hour. Craig fell asleep at nearly every stop but I only remember getting one good nap in.
Physically it was a difficult climb but each break we took was pure heaven. Our breathing would go right back to normal the second we stopped climbing. For the first 3/4 of our climb the sky was very clear so we could behold a beautiful panorama of stars (can't see that in Osaka!) and the flickering lights from the towns below the mountain. These short breaks were the best parts of the climb and it was a great feeling to be up so high in the wilderness. It's a rare experience in Japan.
Unfortunately after station 8 we climbed into the clouds and everything got very wet. The wind also picked up and sometimes it was hard to balance on the rocks while holding a climbing stick in one hand and a flashlight in the other. We reached the summit just before 5am as the sun was beginning it's own daily climb.
My first view of the summit. Other climbers huddle together in the mist behind a traditional Torii gate.
Cold, wet, windy and waiting.
The wind was ripping very hard at the top and everyone was precariously seated on slippery, black volcanic rocks. It was difficult taking pictures too as my camera had gotten very wet during the climb. Unfortunately it was very cloudy this morning so we couldn't see the spectacular sunrise we were hoping for. It was still very impressive though and it meant we had achieved our goal.
Peeping through
Ohayooooooooooooooo
After the 'big moment' everyone retreated into an open building on the top to dry off and enjoy some hot, tasty and very overpriced instant noodles. I was also thankful for the chance to change my wet socks and gloves. After resting for about an hour we ventured outside to take some pictures of the sights up on top.
Sitting down is often underrated.
Mt. Fuji's crater.
Craig & I in front of a Buddhist temple.
The worst possible assignment a mailman can get.
Like walking on clouds.
Coming back to Earth.
Watch out for the loose rocks!
Lucky for us the climb down was much harder than the climb up. While we weren't as winded and made much better time (no need to take frequent breaks) it was very punishing on our legs. The entire trail is made up of loose rocks so we were constantly trying to slide too much as went down. I still landed flat on my ass a few times. We finally got back to our starting point at about 10am and our legs were a wee bit sore. We had a more than a few hours wait until the next bus left so Craig took a nap and I changed into some clothes I'd left at the bottom. Then we had about a 5 hour journey back to Osaka and I think we slept for most of it.
I can't really say that I enjoyed climbing Fuji. There were moments when it was nice but I'm certainly in no hurry to do it again. I think it's enough to say I've done it and move on.
Everest anyone...?
