with the climbing season almost ending in japan, i thought i would share with everyone my mount fuji experience from when i climbed it back in 2012. i know some things have changed since then. for instance, i think now people have to pay to climb? but anyways, here is my experience and some tips!
camryn's survival guide to climbing mount fuji
in july 2012, one of my friends decided she wanted to climb to the summit of mount fuji for her birthday and watch the sunrise. little did i know it was going to be HELL. i completely underestimated climbing mount fuji and since i’m never going to climb it again, i hope to give some words of advice to those who decide to climb. even after checking various sites, they did not prepare me for that night. on the plus side, our schedule was near perfect and i was slightly prepared in terms of supplies.
camryn's survival guide to climbing mount fuji
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| meeting up at takadanobaba station - take note of our poor choice in attire |
in july 2012, one of my friends decided she wanted to climb to the summit of mount fuji for her birthday and watch the sunrise. little did i know it was going to be HELL. i completely underestimated climbing mount fuji and since i’m never going to climb it again, i hope to give some words of advice to those who decide to climb. even after checking various sites, they did not prepare me for that night. on the plus side, our schedule was near perfect and i was slightly prepared in terms of supplies.
the supplies i brought:
- headlight
- 1L bottle of water
- 2 boxes of calorie mate
- 1 can of oxygen
- gloves
- sunglasses
- hand sanitizer
- extra shirt, socks, & yoga pants
- 5000 yen in case of emergency (came in handy!)
- PACK AS LIGHT AS POSSIBLE
- 5000 yen in case of emergency (came in handy!)
- PACK AS LIGHT AS POSSIBLE
our schedule:
7/14
6:30 pm: meet in takadanobaba rotary
7:30 pm: leave shinjuku station to 5th station mount fuji
10:00 pm: arrive at 5th station and change clothes
10:30/11:00 pm: begin climbing
7/15
3:00 am: reach summit
6:30 am: begin decent
9:30/10 am: arrive back at 5th station mount fuji
11:00 am: take bus back to shinjuku station
2:30 pm: arrive at shinjuku station
3:30 pm: die in bed
i hate how it all seems so simple when i type it out, but so many horrible things happened between “begin climbing” to “reach summit.” the hike from the 5th to the 8th wasn’t so bad; the weather was fine and there was very little incline. i think the 8th stop is about the time people start resting before finishing up the summit. we didn’t rest at all during our climb because we didn’t want to pay at least 5000 yen to stay indoors for a couple hours. apparently a lot of people didn’t want to do this either because we saw people huddled up together and sleeping outside of the ryokans.
soon after the 8th rest stop, the wind and rain started to pick up and the bottom half of my body was soaked. the temperature also dropped significantly and i had to give one of my friends an extra shirt i had since he was freezing and all his clothes were soaked. luckily, i at least had on about 4 layers under my northface windbreaker. i also started using my can of oxygen around this time since my legs felt they were going to give out. and they don’t calling it “climbing” mt. fuji for nothing; there were some points where i was on all fours, but it was less tiring than walking in the gravel.
when we finally got the summit, that’s when we really felt the cold and they hadn’t open the ryokan yet. and lucky for us, it was completely cloudy. there was no way we were going to see any bit of sun, which was the reason why we did the night climb. once the ryokan finally opened we ordered our 900 yen pork soon; normally, i would say that was a rip off but it saved my life. even after 3 attempts of kicking us out of the ryokan, we stayed in there for about 3-4 hours and dried off. i just kept thinking though how we were only half way done. before we started on the decline, we ordered more food and i bought my friend a waterproof outfit — very fashionable.
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| the "beautiful" sunrise - the whole reason why we decided to do the night climb |
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| wish i bought this |
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| birthday celebrations |
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| resting up before the descend |
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| necessary waterproof outfit |
around 6:30 am we started making our way down the mountain. many of the japanese people waited patiently in a “line” going down with plenty of space on the sides, so of course my friends and i walk passed these lines in the open spaces to get down faster. i did not want to spend any more time than i needed to. we took the yoshida trail down which was just a windy trail of gravel and the last leg of it was flat. going down took us about three hours and there were points where we were jogging. BUT i did fall on my butt a few times cause the rocks were slippery and my ankles and knees were throbbing by the end of it. the last quarter mile was the quarter mile we started the hike.
you can probably guess what gesture i was making to the camera, but deep down somewhere i was really happy.. give it another few hours, a nap on the bus, a hot shower, a warm bed, and then i would’ve told you how awesome it was and i will never do it again. i think the moral of this was i can do anything as long as i push myself, and don’t be an idiot — be prepared!! and it helps to have some good friends along the way to push you when you don’t feel like pushing yourself :)
overall.. great experience! even though i underestimated fuji, i underestimated the reward — the feeling i can do anything. i would highly recommend this to anyone that has the desire to do it. just don’t be dumb like me!
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6901.html
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/indepth/scenic/mtfuji/fuji_05.html
http://www.fujisan-climb.jp/en/
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