Lack of time, weather and geographical distance dictated that I abandoned my goal to hike a technically challenging hike along the lines of Daikeretto and settle for a less challenging trail but closer to where I was staying in Shinjuku. Sometimes, hiking is just making those difficult choices in life.

Oku-Tama Station

I got up early and caught the 0608 train out of Shinjuku station where I made two transfers before the train ended in the largest municipality in Tokyo at 0805.

Bus Stop #2

The bus for Miyama had just departed mere minutes before I got off the train, so I had to wait until 0855 to catch the next one. In a town whose population numbered less than 5,000, there was not much to do but kill time.

Ogouchi Jinja Bus Stop

There were a lot of fellow hikers on the bus, but I was the only one that stepped off at this particular bus stop at 0921. I guess they had other trails to hike.

Lake Okutama Floating Bridge

I had read somewhere that they close the bridge sometimes due to declining water levels in the man-made reservoir that supplies 20% of the drinking water for Tokyo. Luckily, the bridge was quite buoyant today.

Lake Okutama Floating Bridge

The view from the other side of the bridge that is known officially as Mugiyama or Drum Bridge due to the drum shaped resin used to construct the pedestrian walkway.

Approach to Mito-san

I switched from my sea legs to land legs and made the short climb up to the road above me.

Okutama Circular Road

Sharing the road with motorists that drive on the left side, a tradition that dates back to the time when samurai walked the narrow streets and kept to the left so as to avoid bumping swords with other bushido warriors turned merchants.

Trailhead

Blink and you’ll miss it. Which I did. I had to backtrack a bit to cross the road to enter the opening in the retaining wall.

Nukazasu Ridge

Right off the bat, it was up, up and away. I was just missing the cape.

Nukazasu Ridge

One of the few signs in English. What am I watching for? Falling coconuts?

Nukazasu Ridge

Mount Mito was forbidden for commoners to enter during the Edo period of 1603 to 1868, which allowed the forest to flourish untouched.

Mount Iyo

I reached my first summit at an elevation of 979 meters or 3,211′ at 1025. Not much of a view. Time to press on.

Nukuzasu Ridge

Reports of bear sightings had me picking up a stick, like a lot of good that would have done me but it helped going up the steep rooted trail. And talking loudly to myself since I was alone on the trail and didn’t have those ineffective bear bells hanging off my pack.

Nukuzasu Ridge

My first live sighting other than a bear. I can stop talking loudly to myself now.

Mount Nukuzasu

I missed the summit sign, but I was pretty close to the 3,855′ peak. So I took a pic with these marker signs at 1113 instead.

Nukuzasu Ridge

What am I to be cautious about? Bears? Hikers? Japanese Giant Hornets? Godzilla?

Nukuzasu Ridge

Passing one of several scattered ropes on the trail as it got progressively steeper.

Mito Trail

I passed a descending hiker who told me that the summit was less than 15 minutes away.

Mount Mito

Made it to the 5,023′ West peak at 1215, that was bustling with other hikers having their lunch. Mount Mito is one of three famous mountains in the Okutama region, the other two being Gozenyama and Mount Odake. I didn’t get a chance to visit the Central and East peaks of Mito-san.

Mount Mito

On a good day, you can see views of Mount Fuji. Today was not a good day.

Buna Trail

I departed the summit at 1227 after eating a snack washed down with Pocari Sweat. Sweat to replace sweat.

Buna Trail

Going down the stairs covered with fallen leaves.

Buna Trail

Switch backing my way down the mountain.

Buna Trail

The trail soon intersected with numerous streams flowing down the mountain. I swore I saw some type of furry creature ahead of me and then I looked down and saw a wet paw print on the rocks. Time to start talking loudly.

Buna Trail

Passing one of many trees that were marked with identifying signs. This particular one being the golden full moon maple that turns different shades of color with the seasons.

Buna Trail

Briefly stopped at this open terrace that was enveloped by the tree canopy and surrounded by rippling streams. Further back was the trail that lead to the Mitosan Refuge Hut which I chose not to check out. Guess I was in the more direct mode today.

Buna Trail

Followed the trail as it crossed and bordered the stream on the way down.

Buna Trail

Going over a short bridge that spanned over the running stream.

Buna Trail

Stopped briefly at this open air shelter that had toilets and a group of nature watchers checking out something on the nearby hill.

Buna Trail

I unknowingly bypassed this bridge that apparently leads to a suspension bridge that overlooks the 100′ high Mito Otaki Falls.

Therapy Road

Wood chips covered this stretch of the trail, encouraging people to go barefoot and get in touch with nature.

Buna Trail

Passing through a magnetic fence meant to keep out the deer’s that are threatening to denude the area of plant life which in turn will lead to erosion of the area leading to landslides and collapse of the trail system. It is said that one adult deer can eat up to 11 pounds of grass and plants daily.

Buna Trail

I briefly checked out the vacant forest centre and made my way down the steps.

Hinohara Tokyo Citizens’ Forest

Exited the trail at 1353 into the car park and found out that I had to wait until 1430 to catch the bus. I sat on a bench and finished the rest of my snacks and now room temperature drink while waiting for the bus.

Bus

Got on the bus that took us directly to the Kazuma Bus Stop where we transferred to another bus that would take us to the train station after making multiple stops in the city on its way down the road.

Musashi-Itsukaichi Station

Got off at the bus at 1553 and waited for the 1606 train that would take me directly back to the busiest railway station in the world.

All pau

I got off in the sea of humanity called Shinjuku Station at 1717 and treated myself to the seasonal Frappuccino flavor offered only in Japan Starbucks.

GPS Tracks

My solo hike covered a little over 6.3 miles from end to end that took me 4 hours and 24 minutes to complete. My travel time exceeded my hiking time. This hike has been described as a gem of a hike in the Tokyo area that sees few hikers. I completely agree with that statement. I only wish Mount Fuji was available for my viewing pleasure.

Note: I have been made aware that some hikers have been using my blog as a hiking guide and getting lost on the trails. Please note that this blog was made to document the hike for the crew(s) that did it. That is why some of my comments will seem to have no relevance or meaning to anybody outside of the crew(s) that hiked that trail. My blog was never meant as a hiking guide, so please do not treat it as such. If you find inspiration and entertainment from these hikes, that is more than enough. If you plan on replicating these hikes, do so in the knowledge that you should do your own research accordingly as trail conditions, access, legalities and so forth are constantly in flux. What was current today is most likely yesterdays news. Please be prepared to accept any risks and responsibilities on your own as you should know your own limitations, experience and abilities before you even set foot on a trail, as even the “simplest” or “easiest” of trails can present potential pitfalls for even the most “experienced” hikers. One should also always let somebody know of your hiking plans in case something doesn’t go as planned, better safe than sorry.

Friday – October 20, 2023
We woke up rather late as all our hiking was behind us and it was just playing tourist now.

Tokyo Station

Riding up the escalator to catch the bullet train to Kyoto.

Fuji-san

Passing the iconic snow-capped symbol of Japan.

Kyoto Station

Group photo at a Halloween display at Kyoto Station, the futuristic station opened in 1997 and stands in stark contrast to the historical buildings that populate the ancient capitol of Japan. The holiday was imported to Japan after WW2, but didn’t really take off until 1997 when Tokyo Disneyland introduced it into their theme park and it took off from there.

Kyoto

The cab driver folded an origami crane while driving us from the station to the historic district of Higashiyama. Present for the Americans.

Kyoto

Tanuki (badger) statues were sprinkled throughout the outside of shops and restaurants as it’s believed to bring good luck and fortune.

Kyoto

Passing the first Starbucks housed in a 100 year old Japanese house complete with tatami mats and all the fixings.

Kyoto

Approaching the Yasaka Pagoda, the current five-story tall structure was built back in 1440.

Kyoto

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?

Kyoto

We decided to take a ride in the modernized rickshaw, which was invented in Japan in 1869. When in Japan, do as the tourists do.

Kyoto

Driving around town.

Kyoto

Riding green. No carbon monoxide emissions. Just a lot of carbon dioxide emissions.

Kyoto

Passing through an area known for women training to be maiko (apprentice) and eventually geiko (geisha) who are basically professional entertainers trained in the old ways of Japan.

Tatsumi Daimyojin Shrine

Group photo with our drivers in front of the shrine that the maiko and geiko pray to improve their artistic skills.

Kyoto

Sightseeing.

Kyoto

Animated conversation. Not ready for prime time players.

Kyoto

Can you spot the fake rickshaw driver?

THE SODOH HIGASHIYAMA KYOTO

We asked our drivers where we could sample cuisine authentic and specific to Kyoto. We were directed to this Italian restaurant. Bon appetit! The food was tasty.

Mad Max

Our taxi driver that dropped us off back to Kyoto Station, could have given lessons to New York cabbies.

Kyoto Station

Chico running up and down the Kyoto Station Daikaidan (Great Staircase) which is illuminated with 15,000 LED lights that “paint” various themes. Cue the Rocky music.

Fushimi Inari Shrine

We took a short train ride to the shrine that was established in 711. The forecasted rain finally made its appearance as well.

Fushimi Inari Shrine

Passing through the entrance of the main shrine of over 30,000 Inari shrines throughout the country. Statues of foxes are scattered throughout the shrine grounds. Foxes are believed to be Inari’s messengers.

Fushimi Inari Shrine

Group photo at the beginning of the Senbon-Torii Gate, which are rows of vermillion torii gateways that lead to the summit of Inari.

Fushimi Inari Shrine

We followed the tunnel of red orange gateways that reportedly number 10,000 and most of them cover the path and passed by several shrines on the way.

Fushimi Inari Shrine

Group photo at what we believed to be the summit. It was dark and rainy.

Fushimi Inari Shrine

Going down the loop trail. Most of these gateways were donated by individuals and businesses desiring for prosperity and some of them date back to 1603 until today.

JR Train

Rush hour. Catching the train back to Shinjuku. I think sardines has more space in the can. Late fast food dinner at Wendy’s.

Shibuya Scramble Crossing

Saturday – October 21, 2023
Our original plan of visiting Aokigahara, Japan’s famous forest for many reasons that sits at the base of Mount Fuji, got derailed due to the train being out of service.

Plan B. Looking down at Japan’s most famous traffic intersection where at designated times, people pour into the streets going and coming from all directions.

Shibuya Sky

We met up with Mari’s sister and brother-in-law and took the high speed elevator to the 46th floor and the escalator to the roof to soak in some panoramic views of Tokyo.

Shibuya Sky

Group photo on the roof called Sky Stage, left to right: Aida, Yuka, Kiyoto, me, Mari, and Chico.

Shibuya Sky

High jump, cartwheeling and helicoptering on the helipad.

Shibuya Sky

Panoramic views of Tokyo’s skyline and the mountain ranges. Mount Fuji was sadly not visible today.

Shibuya Sky

Taking the escalator back down to retrieve our personal belongings.

Hachi-ko

We took the elevator back down to the 14th floor to check out a kiosk that was dedicated to Japan’s most famous canine, Hachi-ko. The golden brown dog was born on November 10, 1923 in the Akita prefecture and was sold to Professor Ueno for the princely sum of 30 yen in January 1924 and moved to the town of Shibuya. Professor Ueno would commute daily to teach at Tokyo Imperial University and Hachi-ko would be waiting for him outside the ticket gates. Professor Ueno dropped dead at the University on May 21, 1925 from a cerebral hemorrhage. However, Hachi-ko continued to wait for his master every day for the next nine years, nine months and fifteen days before finally passing on March 8, 1935. The faithful and loyal Akita dog was 11 years old. Hachi-ko’s story caught the attention of Hirokichi Saito, who also founded the Society for Preservation of Japanese Dogs in May 1928, as he found out that Akita dogs were on the verge of going extinct in its own homeland. Saito sent the story to the Tokyo Asahi Shinbun newspaper on October 4, 1932 which put Hachi-ko, which was once considered a pest by the station and commuters, into the national spotlight as an example of family loyalty.

Teppan-Yaki 10

It was here at this steak restaurant that the hunt for the elusive pocchari and the even rarer debu began in earnest in the land of ectomorphs.

JR Train

What would train riders do without their phones?

Shimodate

We got off at Mari’s furusato (hometown) where she grew up, the city was founded in 1954 and merged with other towns in 2005 to create the new city of Chikusei.

Shimodate

Sitting in the farm fields as we waited for the fireworks show as thousands of people streamed in to find their own spots.

Shimodate

Enjoying the hour long hanabi (fireworks) show where 20,001 aerial pyrotechnics were exploded in a kaleidoscope of colors, patterns and sounds. After the show ended, we briskly walked back to the train station to beat the crowd surge that would make the typical rush hour chaos seem absolutely calm and orderly.

JR Train

Is this seat taken? @#$%&! Works across all languages.

Coco’s Restaurant

When the steak is so rare, that the human has to bring it to you. Repeatedly. Where is the robot waiter when you need it?

Standing Sushi Restaurant

Sunday – October 22, 2023
What happened to the rice? Are we eating at a sashimi or sushi restaurant?

Shinjuku

Passing through corridors of 3-D Kamen Riders that was in your face. Where is Kikaida, the forgotten superhero in his own homeland but is still widely popular in Hawaii?

Shinjuku

Catching fleeting glimpses of the giant calico cat.

Hotel Gracery

Playing air banjo with my two rather extreme ectomorph friends.

Hotel Gracery

We paid, literally, a visit to Japan’s most famous export, Godzilla. The 80 ton head sitting on top of the hotel’s terrace was built in 2015. We missed the glowing eyes and smoky breath. The prehistoric reptilian monster first appeared on Japanese movie screens in 1954.

Shinjuku

Somebody was thirsty. Somebody was not amused.

Shibuya

We took the train to Shibuya Station to get our group photo at the iconic landmark and popular meeting spot.

Shibuya

The bronze statue of Hachi-ko was sculpted by Teru Ando and unveiled at the Shibuya Station in April 1934 with the real Hachi-ko present at the ceremony. The original statue was melted down for the war. Takeshi Ando, son of the original artist, sculpted a replacement statue that was unveiled in August 1948. Hachi-ko’s taxidermied body can still be seen at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Ueno Park.

Shibuya

Life imitating art. It was all fun and games until somebody dropped me hard on my posterior. Not sure if my butt is harder than my head.

Shibuya

Watching the giant Akita howling for his master, Professor Ueno.

Moyai Statue

Group photo in front of the statue gifted to Shibuya by the island of Niijima in 1980. Carved to resemble Easter Island’s famous Mo’ai figures, the name moyai is not a corruption of the Polynesian word, but a Japanese one that means coming together as this statue was meant to serve as another meeting place for people outside of Shibuya Station.

Takeshita Street

We took another train to Harajuku station where we found ourselves in front of Takeshita Dori, a congested street that is 400 meters long and lined with shops and cafes primarily aimed at the teenager demographics. We passed. We are not teenagers.

Harajuku

Exploring the shopping district known for teenage culture, vintage clothing, Snoopy Town where the world famous beagle was first exported to Japan in 1969, Hermes scarves that were first introduced in 1937 and one is sold somewhere in the world every 25 seconds and costs thousands of dollars, and walked to Yoyogi park where we saw the Rockability Boys dancing and playing rock music until they were shut down by the police.

Shinjuku

Our last train ride for the trip. We got our money’s worth from our JR Rail Pass.

Shinjuku

Browsing through the many food shops in the basement. Chico got some chicken karaage with the coin purse that he had found earlier. Free food. Mari also took a picture with the Suica penguin, the reason the penguin was chosen as the motif, was that the aquatic bird can swim smoothly through the water. The Suica card stands for Smart Urban Intelligent Card which can be used like a debit card for train tickets and general transactions for smooth purchases.

Shinjuku

We took the limousine bus to Haneda Airport to catch our respective flights back home, Mari stayed another week to burn up her vacation. Thanks to Mari for all her help in coordinating the activities and the group for the fun company.

Photos taken by Aida Gordon, Chico Cantu, Mari Saito, and yours truly. Not necessarily in order.

Note: I have been made aware that some hikers have been using my blog as a hiking guide and getting lost on the trails. Please note that this blog was made to document the hike for the crew(s) that did it. That is why some of my comments will seem to have no relevance or meaning to anybody outside of the crew(s) that hiked that trail. My blog was never meant as a hiking guide, so please do not treat it as such. If you find inspiration and entertainment from these hikes, that is more than enough. If you plan on replicating these hikes, do so in the knowledge that you should do your own research accordingly as trail conditions, access, legalities and so forth are constantly in flux. What was current today is most likely yesterdays news. Please be prepared to accept any risks and responsibilities on your own as you should know your own limitations, experience and abilities before you even set foot on a trail, as even the “simplest” or “easiest” of trails can present potential pitfalls for even the most “experienced” hikers. One should also always let somebody know of your hiking plans in case something doesn’t go as planned, better safe than sorry.

We left another record breaking heat spell in Japan that was steaming her cities and embarked on our sixth visit to Mount Fuji. Fools that will never learn from the second time.

Bus depot

It took a train and a bus ride to get us to the 5th station.

Subashiri 5th Station

Wandering around the more undeveloped feel of the station, we should have taken a gander at KoFuji which was 20 minutes away. Missed opportunity that needs to be re-visited.

Trailhead

We donated to the Fuji Conservation Efforts and were rewarded with new shiny pins to mark our altruistic behavior.

Komitakejinja

Walking up to the subordinate shrine of Fuji Sengen, which houses Oyamazumino-kami, ruler of Japanese mountains and Fujisan-Tarobo, a long nosed goblin that watches the trails.

Subashiri Trail

Mari blessed to be hiking on the fourth and final trail up Mount Fuji.

Too bee or not to bee

One of many bees that were busy pollinating the plants and apparently my hiking stick.

Subashiri Trail

Passing the pine tree lined trail.

Subashiri Trail

Breaking free of the tree line as the trail took on more of an exposed nature.

Subashiri Trail

Zig zagging our way up through the switchbacks.

Osada-sanso

Our first stop at the sixth station. Is it Boy’s Day up in the mountains?

Heated inflation

The first stamp on my hiking stick. Price has risen to 300 yen from 200 yen last year.

Subashiri Trail

Some continued while others rested on the trail as it became more congested with fellow hikers.

Subashiri Trail

Clouds starting to drift in as we gained elevation.

Seto-kan

Quick stop at the original sixth station, another burn on our stick and off we went.

Subashiri Trail

Mari gave me back my hiking stick …

Subashiri Trail

… as she broke out her hiking sticks. Might as well use them if you’re carrying them.

Subashiri Trail

Somebody was looking forward to taking another break at the next hut.

Taiyo-kan

Mari making her way up to the seventh station. No marks, just stickers. 100 yen discount.

Subashiri Trail

Rocks drink sake?

Subashiri Trail

The pitch of the mountain soon took on a steeper slant.

Subashiri Trail

Isolated pockets of green plants pimpled the barren volcanic landscape.

Subashiri Trail

Silhouetted hikers on the cloud soaked trail.

Miharashi-kan

Socked in stop at the seventh station. Higher elevation equaled lower temperatures, which required us to fish out our fleece sweaters from our packs.

Hiking memorial

Tribute to all the fallen hikers that failed to summit the mountain.

Subashiri Trail

Hiking above the clouds.

Subashiri Trail

Following the signs to Yoshida trail.

Edoya

Passing the 8th station.

Yoshida Trail

Leaving the relatively quiet Subashiri trail for the jam packed Yoshida trail.

Yoshida Trail

The clouds constantly changing the landscape.

Yoshida Trail

The crumbly rocks gave way to loose volcanic dirt which made gaining traction uphill that much harder.

Yoshida Trail

Passing through the wooden gate which meant our destination was near.

Munatsuki-edoya

Reservations at the original 8th station? Sorry pal, we are going next door.

Yoshida Trail

Time to finally sit down and relax for the night.

Tomoe-kan

Our hut sweet hut for the night.

Yoshida Trail

Enjoying our solitude that would soon be broken by shoulder to snoring shoulder in the eight person cubicle.

Dinner is served

The Japanese sales pitch was blissfully blocked out by my inability to comprehenend the language so it became background noise as I ate my meal that has not changed from our first visit over seven years ago.

Yoshida Trail

The billowing clouds muted and distracted the sunset.

Yoshida Trail

Enjoying the twinkling city lights as I hurriedly made my way to the chilly community toilets.

Yoshida Trail

Joining the early morning crowds outside.

Yoshida Trail

Catching the breaking sunrise before the rain swept the mountain.

Decisions. Decisions. Decisions.

What with the rain lashing the outside, typhoon warning and a minor headache; the painful decision not to summit and go back down the trail was made for us.

Yoshida Trail

Morning rush hour in the mountain.

Yoshida Trail

The swirling clouds filtered the green landscape below us.

Yoshida Trail

Shuffling through the loose switchbacks.

Yoshida Trail

Enjoying the panoramic landscape of the five lakes of Fuji.

Yoshida Trail

Just follow the signs down.

Yoshida Trail

What happened to the rain? The typhoon? Does Guy Hagi work part time over here?

Yoshida Trail

Sometimes you just have to stop and enjoy the views.

Yoshida Trail

Making our way down to the very crowded toilets. Will hold until the next less crowded one.

Yoshida Trail

We met up with two of our hut mates.

Yoshida Trail

I guess shelter is not needed from falling rocks.

Yoshida Trail

Falling rocks anybody?

Yoshida Trail

Passing through the closed station.

Yoshida Trail

Winding our way down to the sixth station that was preceded by the loudspeaker instructions in multiple languages.

Yoshida Trail

The trail to the bottom of Fuji. Next time.

Yoshida Trail

Cobbling our way down.

Yoshida Trail

Enjoying the forest bath on our way down.

Yoshida Trail

Where the climbing route meets the walking route.

Yoshida Trail

Water for us?

Yoshida Trail

Goodie bags for the runners.

All pau

Please take our picture.

Post hike meal

Two hot bowls of noodles topped off with a vanilla and sesame ice cream cone.

Ja mata

The clouds descended down from the mountains and enveloped the scenery as we boarded the bus back to Shinjuku.

Post script

Mari filling in the eye of the daruma after another successful hike up Mount Fuji. Was it the right or left eye?

GPS Tracks

Our sixth hike up Japan’s iconic mountain covered a little under seven miles. While we completed all four trails, we did not successfully summit this year due to bad weather. There is always next year!

Note: I have been made aware that some hikers have been using my blog as a hiking guide and getting lost on the trails. Please note that this blog was made to document the hike for the crew(s) that did it. That is why some of my comments will seem to have no relevance or meaning to anybody outside of the crew(s) that hiked that trail. My blog was never meant as a hiking guide, so please do not treat it as such. If you find inspiration and entertainment from these hikes, that is more than enough. If you plan on replicating these hikes, do so in the knowledge that you should do your own research accordingly as trail conditions, access, legalities and so forth are constantly in flux. What was current today is most likely yesterdays news. Please be prepared to accept any risks and responsibilities on your own as you should know your own limitations, experience and abilities before you even set foot on a trail, as even the “simplest” or “easiest” of trails can present potential pitfalls for even the most “experienced” hikers.

We returned to Japan’s iconic symbol after a year’s hiatus due to Mari’s recent development of rheumatoid arthritis which had derailed our annual pilgrimage to Fuji-san. But thanks to medication, physical therapy and sporadic hikes to Makapu’u Lighthouse; Mari was ready to climb Fuji again this year. Monitoring the weather score cards for Fuji before our hike date, they fluctuated daily from A to C to A. Just throw a lava rock and get the same results. Guy Hagi is alive and well in Japan.

5th Station

Japan was experiencing her hottest summer ever when we boarded the hour long Shinkansen bullet train that took us away from sweltering Shinjuku to hot and humid Fuji City, where the ear-piercing racket of the semis aka cicadas aka the sounds of summer as it is more affectionately known, greeted us at the train station. We caught the 90-minute bus ride that brought us to the highest of the 5th stations that make up the Fuji trail system, as there are four different trails to get to the top. A marked contrast from our last visit in 2016, where we started from the lowest 5th station. After acclimating to the mountain air for the recommended 45 minutes by drinking soda and paying 1000 yen apiece to support the Fuji conservation efforts, we made our way to the trailhead.

Trailhead

Pushing off at 11:36am at an elevation of 7,874′. We were already pretty high up on the mountain. One day I would like to do a sea to summit hike to Fuji. Mari said she will pass.

Fujinomiya Trail

Starting at the higher elevation meant we had less miles of volcanic terrain to hike up to the summit.

6th Station

Mari approaching the first of seven huts or stations on this particular trail.

Unkai-so and Hoei-sanso

Two huts for the price of one. Just like a BOGO sale! Well, maybe not quite.

Money pit

Dropping 200 yen or roughly two bucks for one of seven stamps on my hiking stick. Can I get two stamps for the price of one? The mark(s) of a tourist hiker.

Fujinomiya Trail

Leaving the huts and continuing our rocky climb on the third trail in the system.

Volcanic flora

Stopping to admire the colorful Japanese knotweed plant growing at the lower elevations.

First Aid

Mari being niele (nosy) while passing paramedics administering care to a Chinese hiker that hurt her arm and who were still looking for an Australian hiker that fell off the trail.

Fujinomiya Trail

Climbing carefully on the trail to avoid injuring an arm or falling off.

Volcanic flora

Life always finds way to exist in even the most seemingly inhospitable environments.

Goraiko-sanso

Arriving at the 7th station. The old station that is. I like to think of these huts as similar to Starbucks coffee shops; a place to sit, grab free wi-fi and pay for overpriced drinks and snacks.

Got views?

While the swirling clouds robbed the views from us, at least it kept us from overheating on the trail.

New 7th Station

Sign posts to guide and keep track of your hike in terms of distance and estimated time. Your mileage may vary.

Closed trail

Excuse me, I think the trail is over on this side. I guess there is no such thing as universal signage.

Tonka Toy Truck

This is how supplies, garbage, workers and sick people get on and off the mountain. Hope we don’t fall into any of those categories.

Fujinomiya Trail

Exchanging greetings of konnichiwa ( hello ) on the trail with other hikers coming and going.

Follow the arrows

Workers replacing the ropes on the trail. Constant upkeep. Keep on donating 1,000 yen.

Old 7th Station

Maybe it’s just me, but shouldn’t the old station be before the new station?

Fujinomiya Trail

Hiking above the clouds never gets old.

Fujinomiya Trail

We were hiking at well over 10,000′ and the air was still comfortably warm enough to do without any jackets, just like our last visit in 2015.

8th Station

Every trail has a medical station to assist hikers dealing with the common complaint of altitude sickness. Thanks to canned oxygen and tablets, we were doing fine and continued on the trail.

Fujinomiya Trail

Passing through heavy duty barricades that protects against frequent rockfalls.

Blue Skies

The trail being on the other side of the mountain, is the only one that offers views of the Pacific Ocean as a backdrop. Unfortunately, the only blue we saw today, was that of the sky.

Wishing Pole

We left our low denomination coins and took promising wishes with us.

Fujinomiya Trail

Looking ahead to our hut for the night as we still had plenty of daylight to spare.

Fujinomiya Trail

Mari was pacing herself on the hike. 20 paces. Rest. 30 paces. Rest. Repeat until you get to your destination.

9th Station

We arrived at 4:52pm where the air was calm and the altitude was a little over 11,350′. Just in time for dinner.

Mannenyuki-sanso

Our hut for the night. Reservations for Saito?

Hut Sweet Hut

We checked in and were shown our “room” for the night. $65 on the mountain gets you a sleeping bag, curry dinner and two cups of hot green tea. Nothing more. Nothing less. Outside temperature was a comfortable 59 degree Fahrenheit. The winds picked up slightly later on, but not enough to give one a chill.

Sunset

Enjoying the pinkish sunset views, until the air temperature finally dropped and forced us back into the hut and our musty sleeping bags.

Sunrise

We decided to sleep in and miss the traditional sunrise hike at 2am to the summit and just catch the sunrise from the hut in the morning. One slight problem with that, as we found the sun rises on the other side of the mountain. Mari was content to sit outside our hut, due to her pounding headache, so I slippered my way around the bend to catch the rising sun at 4:30am.

Ohayo Gozaimasu

Walking back to the hut in the cool, crisp mountain air. Ohayo Gozaimasu (Good Morning).

Torii

Mari still had her pounding headache due to the thin air and was thinking of ditching the summit hike and just going back down. Luckily Ibuprofen and persistence paid off, so we were back on the trail at 5:58am.

Fujinomiya Trail

Descending hikers are supposed to yield to the ascending hikers, but I don’t think everybody got the memo.

Blue Skies

The skies were strikingly blue this morning as we dealt with the traffic jam on the trail. Sunrise hikers have to deal with worse, borderline gridlock traffic on the trail.

Munatsuki-sanso

Last hut on the trail before the summit.

Fujinomiya Trail

The air was quite thin at this point, so Mari’s pleading to get down didn’t travel well to my ears.

Harlequin Ladybird

I guess this brightly colored beetle was making her way down from the summit. Konnichiwa.

Fujinomiya Trail

Rock by rock, we made our way up the increasingly steep trail.

Fujinomiya Trail

Mari started saying “maji?” (seriously?) more frequently, as the trail became even steeper as we approached the top.

Fuji Summit

We arrived at the Torii gate at 8:15am, which marks the gateway to the summit of Fuji. Fools five times! Congratulations to Mari for pushing through and making it despite her doubts. Mind over matter.

Cry me a river

The summit weather at 12,388′ elevation was a marked departure from our first visit in 2013, where we experienced a storm pounding the top. The air was comfortably cool and the wind noticeably absent. The perfect (non) storm to climb to the highest point, Kengamine Peak. Unfortunately, the climb had taken the wind out of Mari’s sails, as she had to save her energy for the hike back down.

Fuji crater

Trying not to get too close to the 820′ deep crater that still had snow sitting at the bottom, but a lot less as compared to our last visit in 2014.

Okumiya Shrine

We dropped off postcards at the highest post office in the land and got the final stamp on my hiking stick at the shrine. Mari forgot to add a 10 yen stamp to one of the postcards. Luckily, the postal worker found us and let us know that postage was due.

Fuji Summit

After we had corrected our postage due problem, we started to make our way to the Yoshida trailhead.

Fuji Summit

Giving the maw of the crater a wide berth, as even though the last eruption occurred in 1707, Fuji is still considered an active volcano. Fuji is actually three volcanos in one; Komitake at the bottom, Kofuji in the middle and Fuji at the top. So we can say we hiked three volcanos for the price of one!

Fuji Summit

This section of the trail was quite empty, as we had the clouds to keep us company.

Fuji Summit

Descending down to the cluster of huts where hikers gather to watch the sunrise pop up, eat, rest, socialize, and use the bathrooms. Not necessarily in that order.

Breakfast of Champions

Thanks to the excellent weather we were enjoying; we decided to sit outside, soak in the views and have hot miso soup for breakfast.

Yoshida Trail

We left the summit at 9:50am going down the cloud soaked Yoshida trail.

Yoshida Trail

Making our way down the countless switchbacks.

Thumbs down

I take it that hitchhiking is not big in Japan.

Global Warming

Not enough to make a snowman, just enough for a couple shave ices.

Yoshida Trail

The rolling clouds seemed to be slowly chasing us down the mountain.

Morning call

A small bird, called awahibari, darted through the blue sky and alighted on a rock, chirped and flew off.

Yoshida Trail

Leaving behind the cluster of huts as we hit another set of switch backs going down.

Yoshida Trail

Intermittent signage and maps on the trail keeps one on track.

Bathroom break

Most hikers took this opportunity to “lighten the load.”

Yoshida Trail

Puffs of volcanic dust followed the steady stream of hikers going down the switch backs. Just like the Pigpen character in Peanuts.

Bi-lingual

Warning signs to use the shelter does not seem to work in the native and foreign tongue.

Walk or ride?

I told Mari that she could take the horse ride back down the trail and take a load off her sore feet, but like a trooper, she said she would walk it out the whole way.

Flora

Stopping and smelling the pink flowers on the trail.

Field trip

Yielding to some pint sized hikers. They sure start them young in Japan.

Yoshida Trail

Mari pining to go back and enjoy Fuji for another day.

Yoshida Trail

The horse ride going back down was getting cheaper and smaller.

Yoshida Trail

So many arrows pointing too so many trails. Which one to follow? Just go straight.

Yoshida Trail

The long and boring walk back to the 5th station. Are those horses still available?

5th Station

We finished our hike at 1:30pm as we jostled and joined the crushing mass of humanity at the popular Kawaguchiko 5th station.

Post-hike meal

After securing our bus ride back to Shinjuku; we ate Japanese spaghetti, pork bowl and lingoberry ice cream to replenish our caloric deficit. Pass on the spaghetti. Keep the Coca-Cola flowing.

All pau

Our last photo with Mount Fuji in the background before the rolling clouds blotted her out. We soon boarded the two hour bus ride back to our hotel, showered and had some cheap and tasty ramen for dinner.

GPS Tracks

We were blessed with excellent weather, albeit cloudy views, on our two day hike that covered 8.2 miles hiking the world’s most climbed mountain. Hats off again to Mari for completing the entire hike.

Postscript

Mari filling in the other eye on the Daruma, as the first eye was her wish to be able to summit Fuji-san again. Time to get another Daruma for next years trail. A little background on the Daruma doll. They are seen as a symbol of perseverance and good luck. When purchased, both eyes are blank white. The user will set a goal and paint in one of the eyes. Once the goal has been completed, the other eye is filled in.

Note: I have been made aware that some hikers have been using my blog as a hiking guide and getting lost on the trails. Please note that this blog was made to document the hike for the crew(s) that did it. That is why some of my comments will seem to have no relevance or meaning to anybody outside of the crew(s) that hiked that trail. My blog was never meant as a hiking guide, so please do not treat it as such. If you find inspiration and entertainment from these hikes, that is more than enough. If you plan on replicating these hikes, do so in the knowledge that you should do your own research accordingly as trail conditions, access, legalities and so forth are constantly in flux. What was current today is most likely yesterdays news. Please be prepared to accept any risks and responsibilities on your own as you should know your own limitations, experience and abilities before you even set foot on a trail, as even the “simplest” or “easiest” of trails can present potential pitfalls for even the most “experienced” hikers.

We arrived in Japan sandwiched between two typhoons. Wunderbar. We had two days before our third climb up to Mount Fuji. Mari was checking on the constantly changing weather forecast. Clear. Cloudy. Rainy. Clear. Cloudy. Rainy. Guy Hagi is alive and well in Japan. As a precaution, we had even booked another day in case the weather looked bad. In the end, we decided to go for our originally planned day and hoped for the best.

Yoshida 5th station

The two hour bus ride took us from sweltering Shinjuku to the lush forests of the Fuji Hakone National Park as we slowly motored our way up to the 5th station perched at 7,545′ elevation.

Japanese mountain ranges

We got off the bus and enjoyed the cool air and scenic cloud capped mountain views.

Mount Fuji

The mountain. The mountain. The mountain. Crystal clear.

Trailhead

We pushed off at 10:40am, after having spent the suggested 45 minutes getting used to the thin mountain air.

Have horse, will travel

Some people prefer to do their walking with hooves. Clip clop.

Climbing route

Most of the day tourists stopped here or took the lower trail. From here on, it was mostly hikers going to the summit.

Climbing

Time to break out the hiking sticks. Serious hiking ahead.

Falling rock shelter

The mountain silence was interrupted by the blaring multi-lingual PA system which encouraged hikers to use the tunnels to avoid falling rocks.

Follow the signs

It’s pretty hard to get lost on this trail.

6th station

Mari making her way up to the Mt. Fuji Safety Guidance Center; where maps in Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean are available. Pidgin map coming soon.

Walking the wall

Hiking the wall less traveled. Until somebody yelled at me to get off the wall. Thanks Mari.

Switchbacks for days

Back and forth. Zig and Zag.

Inhale deeply

Mari had eaten some dried mango earlier and it did not sit well with her, which made her slightly nauseous. She initially thought it was altitude sickness and would not be able to complete the climb to the top which would have been a huge disappointment for her. After sucking down some canned oxygen, her stomach settled down and it was back to climbing. Big sigh of relief.

Huts ahead

The clouds parted to reveal the beginning of the climbing huts that offered rest, snacks and stamps if you had the yen for it.

7th station

Mari arriving at the first hut, Hana-goya. It was still a cool and comfortable 69 degree Fahrenheit. Nice relief from the sauna that was baking the city down below us.

Rocky trail

Taking a break from the switchbacks.

Hole in the sky

Clouds started to roll up the mountain, blotting out the views.

Hinode-kan

The temperature was unseasonably warm at this altitude. Last year at this same altitude, we had already donned our fleece sweaters. Not this year. Still cool and comfortable.

Tomoe-kan

Hmmm, let’s see. Water for $3. Sunglasses for $4. Beer for $5. Chips for $2. Red Bull for $3. Fish sausage for $1. How much for the vintage hut sign?

Follow the chains

Up, up and away.

Huts in the clouds

Looking down at the huts perched on the side of the volcano.

Kamaiwa-kan

Resting at 9,154′ elevation. Getting higher.

Going up

I preferred climbing up the rocky sections over the numbing switchbacks anyday.

Red Torii Gate

The gate is rebuilt every 60 years. Is it time?

Torii-so

Most of the huts had informational signs to read up on the history of the mountain. Too bad I’m illiterate.

Cloudy skies

Clouds literally rolling down the mountain side.

Climbing up

Going up one rock at a time.

Toyo-kan

Looked like the crew and cast of Extreme Hut Makeover paid this hut a visit. New siding and flooring.

Fuji flowers

Pockets of bright yellow flowers stood out from the barren volcanic landscape.

Silhouttes

Hikers climbing towards the sun.

Blue skies

The sky’s so blue and bright, I gotta wear shades.

Fuji puka

Two holes. One in the head and one in the mountain.

Climbing out of the clouds

All smiles.

Taishi-kan

The weather was still cool and comfortable at the 10,170′ elevation.

Sunny skies

The weather continued to hold strong and promising for us.

Horai-kan

The frequent spacing of the huts provided good excuses to stop and take a breather in the thin air.

Hiking up

Mari still going strong. Second wind.

Above the clouds

Back on the switchbacks. Ugh.

Hakuun-so

Let’s eat something. Not dried mangoes.

Clouds

High above the clouds.

Ganso-muro

Started to get a little chilly at 10,662′. Time to dig out the sweaters and jackets.

Mountain shrine

Mari praying for the good weather to continue.

Almost there

Where are we on the map?

Getting higher

Looking back at Lake Yamanaka, one of five Fuji lakes and the largest. Still got to visit at least one of them.

Hut Sweet Hut

The final push up the stone steps as the bright blue sky beckoned us.

Fujisan Hotel

Hotel or hut? Don’t expect turndown service.

Tomoe-kan

We checked in at our hut at 4:40pm. Just in time for dinner. TV dinner. Temperature was a comfortable 54 degree Fahrenheit at the 11,154′ elevation.

Looking down

Checking out how far we had climbed up the mountain.

Sleeps six

Hut reservations were down due to unfounded fears of a possible eruption. More room for us. We got our own six person compartment all to ourselves. Just like a private room with its own view. The Hawaiian Host macadamia nut chocolates probably didn’t hurt either.

Just in case

I noticed the rows of climbing helmets hanging from the ceiling in case of an eruption. Last recorded eruption was in 1707. There have been talks of a potential eruption due to the recent earthquake back in 2011. Hmmm, what are our helmet sizes?

Hut with a view

Click here for the larger image.

Kage Fuji

Mirror, mirror on the mountain. Mount Fuji cast her impressive shadow on the clouds as the sun set behind us, it was one of the highlights of the climb. Quite the show.

Good night

We went to sleep early watching the twinkling Tokyo city lights.

Ohayo gozaimasu

Nothing like waking up at 1am on top of a freezing cold mountain. Thank goodness for heated toilet seats.

Rush hour

We joined the slow, shuffling line of hikers making their way up the mountain. Let’s keep the line moving folks.

Goraikou-kan

8.5 Station. Where is the other half?

City lights

Hiking up the mountain while the rest of Japan slept.

Mountain gate

Are we there yet?

9th Station

No more stations or huts until we got to the summit.

Dog Lions

We quickly took our picture next to the pair of stone statues that sat perched below the final torii gate before the summit, before we got run over by the hikers behind us.

Looking back

The stream of illuminated hikers making their way up.

Mountain ambassadors

Arrived at the cold and dark summit at 3:20am. The only illumination coming from a pair of vending machines. Refreshing and uplifting!

Not open yet

Scattered, huddled and bundled hikers tried to find any kind of shelter to get out of the wind chill. It was cold. Ice cold.

Morning glow

As we waited for the goraiko or arrival of the sun, I was holding a hot can of cocoa trying to transfer the slowly dissipating heat to my numb hands.

Saiko sunrise

Our 4:38am sunrise. Not a bad view from our 12,389′ perspective.

History

Our three year journey finally paid off. The first year we got a glimmer. The second year we got sunbeams. This year we finally got the whole show.

Mission accomplished

Third time was the charm! The summit was storm and cloud free!

Time to eat

Now it was time to get out of the biting cold wind and slurp down $7 bowls of pork miso soup to warm our bellies. Once you sat down in the huts, it was hard to get back up and go out into the cold.

Windy

The gusting winds were pushing us around something fierce, so we didn’t get to traverse around the crater rim known as ohachi-meguri and her eight peaks. Next year.

High winds

We pushed off at 6:20am from the summit to make our way down the Yoshida trail, as fine volcanic dust washed over us. We needed a shower, but not that kind.

Yoshida trail

Sliding, walking and falling down the volcanic ash covered trail. Not necessarily in that order. We didn’t run across any patches of snow this year. Blame everything on global warming.

Scenic view

Click here for the larger image.

Last shrine

One of the advantages of staying at Tomoe-kan is that you can leave your backpack there and travel lightly to the top. Then as you make your way down, the trail intersects with the hut again and you can pick up your backpack. Well not everybody. Somebody has to be the Sherpa. Guess who?

Share the trail

Miniaturized heavy equipment making their way up. This is how the trails are maintained, supplies are delivered and sick people taken down.

Last nature call

Mari took the last opportunity to use the bathroom before the final push back down. Make sure to donate 200 yen.

Last marker

Thank you Ministry of Environment.

Just water

The horse guys thought they had some customers. Guess again. Just water please.

Go back?

Next year.

5th station in sight

Just a little bit more.

Fuji lily

Splash of color.

All pau

Our third time up Fuji, where we finally got treated to the sunrise that had eluded us twice before. Finishing the sunrise hike was made even more special to Mari, as she had trouble walking eight months earlier and was worried that she would not make it up her favorite mountain this year.

GPS Tracks

Our climb up and down Fuji covered only 8.04 miles roundtrip with an elevation gain of 6,650′, which made the hike seem longer than it should have been. We had two hours to kill before our bus ride back to Shinjuku, so we had our post hike meal of katsu curry and udon noodles. Back for more next year? Yup, as there are at least three other trails to explore that goes up to the summit.

Two fools paid another visit to Mount Fuji to collect our sunrise. Or so we hoped. Last year we had failed to see the sunrise due to a raging storm on top of the mountain. The two hour bus ride from Shinjuku did not look promising as we approached Fuji Hakone National Park as the summit was nowhere to be seen. Fingers crossed.

That will be one dollar

We got off the bus at the Kawaguchiko 5th Station and milled around for about 45 minutes to acclimate ourselves to the 7,545′ elevation. Using the bathrooms on Mount Fuji is not free and the toilets are non-flushing with microbes added to decompose the waste. Get use to that smell.

Can’t see the mountain for the clouds

Not an auspicious start to our hike as our goal was nowhere to be seen.

Horse model

For $3, you too can sit on a horse and get your picture taken. Just like at the State Fair.

Donations gladly accepted

Before Mount Fuji was declared a World Heritage Site last year, it cost nothing to enjoy this iconic symbol of Japan. Now they have a tent set up to ask for ten dollar donations to help with the conservation of Mount Fuji. We gladly donated. A small price to enjoy such beauty.

Here we go again

Deja vu. We pushed off the trail at 10:50am with high hopes as the weather forecast had predicted no rain. They didn’t say anything about the clouds though.

Climbing route

We began our climb towards Fuji-san. Saw a lot of day tourists taking the lower trail.

Play misty for me

The clouds seemed thicker and lower than last year.

Follow the flag

Japanese tour guides often have flags with them so that the group can easily find and follow them. This was no tour guide.

Yamabushi

Greetings of ohayo gozaimasu ( good morning ) rang through the crisp morning air from white garbed monks coming down from their mountain pilgrimage. They were happy. They were finished with the hike.

Easy way down

This guy took the horse ride down. Took a load off his feet and lightened his wallet by $30 too.

Falling rocks

This concrete tunnel was built to protect hikers from falling rocks.

Sixth station

The first station hikers run across is the sixth station, where they are nice enough to pass out hiking maps. I’ll take my maps in English please. Other choices were Japanese, Chinese and Korean. Sorry, none in Hawaiian. Auwe!

That way

The signposts made it quite difficult to get lost.

All smiles

Mari smiling on the trail. Let’s see how long that lasts.

Standing on the berm

Looking down at the hikers coming up the switchbacks.

Lot of switchbacks

Switchbacks make up the bulk of the trails leading to the summit, rarely will you find a straight up trail. While this makes it easier, it also stretches out the time spent on the trail.

Lost and found?

Rows of brightly colored miniature backpacks lined the sides of this switchback.

Huts as far as the eye can see

Huts that offered shelter, snacks and stamps started popping into view.

Two way traffic

The owners coming back to reclaim their backpacks. This trail is usually one way going up. But who’s going to admonish kids going the wrong way? I gave them credit for making it this far.

Seventh station

The seventh station marks the beginning of the roughly dozen huts that dot Fuji’s backside.

Can you spot Spot?

A dog was enjoying an afternoon nap, seemingly unbothered by the passing huffing and puffing of hikers.

Only 3.8km to go

That’s 2.36 miles for metric challenged folks.

Still smiling

Mari developed a slight headache at the beginning and was struggling a bit.

Another hut

Still on the seventh station?

Got snacks?

Every hut hawked shelter, snacks and stamps. Thirsty? Try the Pocari Sweat? Not as bad as it sounds. This year, I didn’t buy a hiking stick and get them stamped at each hut. The novelty had worn off from last year. Besides, the stamp price had gone up from $2 to $3. If you get a stamp from each hut, that would cost you around $60! More money to buy Pocari Sweat.

Back to hiking

If one hikes Mount Fuji outside of the official hiking season of July and August, no huts will be open for business.

Genki desuka?

Mari’s headache wasn’t going away, so she slapped on a nose strip which helped. We saw a couple other hikers wearing the same type of nose strip that probably had headaches as well.

One stick at a time

One step and stick at a time. Slowly but surely we will get to the top.

Follow the arrows

Need medical assistance? Just a stone away.

No reservations required

Most huts require advance reservations. This one had openings.

Snow!

Higher altitudes means snow on the mountains, even in summer.

Getting higher

We were leaving the clouds below us as we climbed higher.

Our first torii

Have we reached the promised land yet? Not by a long shot.

Hiking into the clouds

It’s always surreal to be hiking into clouds.

The finger

Some hikers started yelling “look at the cloud finger!” So I had to turn around and look. Can you see it?

Stay within the chains

A lot of hikers on the trail made for a slow pace. So I veered off the beaten trail sporadically. Not recommended. Safety first.

Smile break

Mari taking one of many breaks to the top. Still smiling.

Eighth station

We finally moved up a number. Thought we were stuck at seven. From the seventh to the eight station, the huts are spaced out every 20 minutes or so. Many opportunities to stop and take a break.

Only 2.7km left

Getting closer or 1.67 miles left to the summit. The air got noticeably thinner and colder. Time to break out the jackets.

Let’s do this!

Ganbatte!

Panoramic view

Click here for the larger image.

Above the clouds

Taking a photo opportunity at one of the rest stops.

Air is getting thinner

Time to break out the oxygen tablets.

Sucking oxygen

Mari inhaling compressed air to combat the effects of the thin mountain air and hoping it would get rid of her headache.

One step at a time

Are we there yet?

Gateway to the clouds

Shashin o totte kudasai or please take our picture.

Fuji shrine

I wish I had paid more attention to a guide that was educating her group about this particular shrine perched on the slopes of Fuji. The group was foreigners comprised of Chinese and Westerners, so she was speaking English. Even more so, I should have paid attention.

1.8km to go!

Little more than a mile left!

Our hut for the night

We reached our hut, Tomoe-kan at an altitude of 11,154′ around 5:30pm. Home sweet home. At least for the night.

Damp and cramped

The musty futons from last year had been replaced by tacky, thin plastic sleeping bags that was permanently damp from the cold mountain air. Usually each “room” is shared by 10 hikers. Communal living at it’s finest. Luckily we only had to share it with four other hikers.

Sales pitch with our meal

Nothing like eating your hamburger steak and curry washed down by hot green tea while being loudly reminded that anpan, postcards and trinkets were available for sale.

What time is it?

We woke up at the ungodly hour of 1am to get ready for the final push to the summit. The only good thing about waking up this early was that Mari’s headache was gone. Going to the outside bathroom in the middle of the freezing mountain night is not fun. Thank goodness for those heated toilet seats!

Getting chilly

While the weather was not stormy like last year, the wind chill kept it freezing cold. Stark reminder that we were on top of a mountain. In the wee hours of the morning.

Traffic jam

Snails pace going up behind other hikers shuffling up the mountain to catch the sunrise. Cruel joke.

We made it!

The lion statues and torii welcomed us again to the summit of Mount Fuji at 12,388′ at 3:20am.

A better picture

And then the clouds cleared. Actually this was taken later in the morning when the crowds had thinned out.

Civilization

Twin beacons of hot and cold beverages tempted us with their neon glow. Vending machines are everywhere in Japan, even on top of Mount Fuji.

Wait for it

As we sat and shivered in the freezing wind, we bought $4 cans of hot cocoa to warm ourselves up outside and inside. Some enterprising hikers had brought their own stove with them and were busy cooking up hot ramen. The sun rises at 4:30am. So we all sat and waited with baited breath. Is that the sun we see? Not again! The mythical Fuji sunrise has eluded us again for the second time. Fools we are! After the major disappointment, we retreated into one of the huts to slurp down their $8 pork miso soup and $9 chewy ramen.

Better than nothing

At 6am, we ventured out into the whipping wind to capture our consolation photo.

Is this volcano active?

Peering into the maw of Fuji’s crater. Most people don’t realize that Fuji is an active volanco, with the last recorded eruption in 1708. One study speculates that the 2011 earthquake has made another eruption more likely.

Crater rim

Going clockwise around the crater rim that is known as ohachi-meguri. There are supposed to be eight peaks ringing the crater rim. Last year, we were unable to hike the rim due to a raging storm.

Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet …

Passing the post office. Yes. A post office on an active volcano.

Uma no se

Walking up the “horse’s back”, the slippery and steep slope to kengamine or the highest peak on the crater.

Unmanned weather station

Last manned in 2004. Now a fully automated meteorological station that sweeps for incoming typhoons and heavy rain showers.

Highest point in Japan

Standing on kengamine, the highest peak in Japan at 12,402′.

Snowball fight?

The snow was still pretty thick up on the rim. Took about an hour to traverse the entire rim.

Going back down

After the wind had died down somewhat, we went down the Yoshida trail around 8am.

JSDF

Japanese soldiers coming up the mountain. Part of their training in case Mount Fuji gets invaded by the North Koreans.

Scenic point

The views were definitely better at the lower elevations than the summit. Go figure.

Bulldozers have the right of way

This is how supplies, workers and sick hikers get up and down the mountain.

Sharing the anpan

Munching on the best anpan ( sweet bean filled buns ) on the mountain. Well, that’s what the salesman said! It was actually pretty good and Mari’s favorite anpan in Japan.

Final stretch

It’s all down hill. Just don’t fall down again.

Got 3,000 Yen?

The day was drawing to a close and with no customers, this old man closed up shop and rode his horse back to town.

Almost there

We could see the 5th station where we had started from the day before.

All pau

We made it back down the mountain around noon, happy and disappointed that we missed the sunrise again. Third time is the charm? Perhaps. The Japanese have a saying that you would be a fool not to climb Mount Fuji once, but a fool to climb it twice. So what would that make us if we do it a third time? We will be back for our sunrise to find out the answer!

I’ve visited Japan 16 times but had never gotten around to climbing the iconic symbol of Japan – Mount Fuji. 17th time was the charm. Rewind seven month earlier as my wife, Mari, planned everything from the gear rental, hotel and hut reservations and bus rides down to the last detail. Details such as getting canned oxygen (never used) and oxygen tablets to give one an extra boost of oxygen at the higher altitudes (only Mari took these). Just before our trip to Japan, we learned that UNESCO had bestowed World Heritage status on Mount Fuji. Great for Japan. Bad for us – crowds. Getting off the two hour bus ride from Shinjuku, we arrived halfway up Mount Fuji at the Kawaguchiko 5th Station. Crowds of day tourists, students and hikers were milling around. A lot of students and day tourists just go to the 5th station to gawk and say they went to Mount Fuji and get back on their bus. Mount Fuji’s summit was covered in clouds. The weather report had predicted rain for today. Too late to cancel our plans, it was Fuji or bust! I just prayed that the weather reporter was related to Guy Hagi. The air at 7,562 feet did not seem thin to me at all, but it’s recommended to acclimate yourself for an hour before hiking. So we bought a $5 hiking stick, paid 50 cents to use the toilet and looked at the various tourist trinkets until it was time to go.

Ride or walk?

We pushed off from the trailhead at 10:45AM as we joined others making the climb and returning from the summit. Mari walking next to a horse drawn cart, that will take one all the way to the 7th station for a small fee. Climbing season runs from July to August. I was pleasantly surprised to find the trails not as crowded, probably because we were doing it on a weekday. Expect madness and gridlock on weekends and holidays.

Izumigataki junction

The downward slope of the trail led us to Izumigataki junction at 11:08AM and we took the right fork up to the climbing trail.

Walking sticks come in handy

The slope of the trail now started to pitch upward. Notice the trees, they would soon be gone as we got higher.

Mt. Fuji Safety Guidance Center aka 6th Station

We reached the 6th station at 11:37AM and were handed maps, that they have in Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean. At the time, we didn’t even know it was the 6th station. No more trees to be seen.

Switchbacks

Mari coming up the switchbacks which are safely shored up by massive fences to prevent erosion. We saw a string of huts perched on the slope of the mountain as we made our way up.

7th Station – Hana-goya hut

At 12:43PM, we reached the 7th station, first of many huts on the trail. Mari was so happy as we didn’t know we had passed the 6th station earlier at 11:37AM, and now we were at the 7th station!

First stamp – 200 Yen

Shelling out 200 Yen or roughly two bucks for the first of many stamps on my hiking stick. Every hut that we passed sells water, snacks and of course a stamp to put on your stick.

Mari rock climbing

Mari climbing up the rockier part of the trail. Fun, fun, fun!

7th Station – Hinode-kan hut

Reaching another 7th station hut.

7th Station – Tomoe-kan hut

The trail from the 7th station to the 8th station is on very rocky terrain, lot of climbing involved. Luckily, huts are spaced out every 15 minutes or so to take breaks or shelter if needed.

More rock climbing

203 minutes to go. At whose pace? The trail was dotted with informational signs that tell you how much distance and time until the summit.

In the company of Buddhist monks

This section of the trail we shared with a stream of white clad chanting Buddhist monks. One of the monks actually fell in front of me, and another monk and myself helped him back up. Hopefully I will get good karma for my actions. Fat chance.

First Torii

 Reaching the first of multiple torii’s or Shinto gates that marked the trail.

Climbing continues…

More climbing on the rocky trail, only one way to go – up.

Climbing out of the clouds

Mari popping out of the clouds.

8th Station – Taishi-kan hut

After passing multiple 7th station huts, we made it to the first 8th station hut at 2:37PM. Air was getting thinner at 3,100 meters or 10,171 feet.

Taking a break

Every now and then, the cloud cover would give us a peak at the scenery below. The rain started as we approached the top.

8th Station – Hakuun-so hut

Another 8th station hut.

8th Station – Ganso-muro hut

Matthew from New York took our photo at this 8th station that we reached at 4:00PM. He was doing it in regular street clothes, those tough New Yorkers! Matthew had actually started the climb to Mount Fuji at the bottom, so he can actually say he climbed the whole mountain. Whereas, we were only climbing half the mountain. Hey, we got to start from somewhere. I want to hike from the bottom next time, Mari not so much.

Original 8th Station

 We reached the original 8th station at 4:32PM. The temperature dropped to 8 degrees Celsius or 46 degrees Fahrenheit at an altitude of 3,400 meters or 11,155 feet.

Home for the night – Tomoe-kan hut

We got to “our” hut at 4:50PM. Reservations for Saito? Cost was about $65 per person and they throw in a free meal. It’s best to make reservations ahead of time, otherwise you might literally be left out in the cold. It was such a relief to get inside and away from the cold wind and rain. Dinner was served at 5:29PM and consisted of a cup of hot green tea, beef curry, hamburger steak and rice. After downing the Japanese TV meal, we retired to our “spacious” sleeping quarters upstairs. It was basically 12 futons sectioned off. We were supposed to keep quiet so as not to bother the other hikers that had retired early. But people walking up and down the hallway, chatting away and the PA blaring out names for dinner kept us up until around 9:30PM.

Heading into the storm

After groggily waking up at 1:00AM to the rain pounding the roof and the winds shaking the walls, we got ready to climb the last stretch to the summit and see the sunrise. One of the selling points for this hut was that they allowed you to leave your pack behind, so that you can climb to the summit relatively unencumbered. Guess who got to be the pack mule? We left the relative warmth of the hut at 2:01AM to head outside and resume our climb. There is usually a line of people waiting to make the final push to the summit. The weekday and the storm combined to cut the usual crowds to dozens instead of hundreds.

8.5 Station – Goraikou-kan hut

We met up again with Matthew at the 8.5 station hut. Too early to get a stamp, was running out of room on my stick anyway.

9th Station

The wind and rain seemed to get stronger as we got to the 9th station at 2:50AM. At an altitude of 11,811 feet, we only had 656 feet left to the summit. The Gore-Tex jackets and pants helped us to stay dry despite the pounding rain and freezing wind. The only thing we were missing was Gore-Tex gloves, as our hands were wet and freezing the whole way up.

One of two dog statues

I almost missed the two stone guardian dog statues at the summit entrance due to the storm, luckily a fellow hiker pointed it out.

What is that?

We could barely make out the summit torii as it was being washed over by the rain storm.

Hot cocoa at the summit

We made the summit at 3:29AM to be greeted by the twin neon glow of vending machines! On top of Mount Fuji! How odd and Japanese at the same time. The temperature must have been close to freezing at the top, so we all tried to find scant shelter from the wind and rain wherever it could be found. A couple minutes later, the outside lights came on and we were attracted like moths to a flame. Everybody was chomping at the bit to get inside and away from the cold. We had to wait a couple of minutes until they got everything ready. We all streamed inside, cold and shaking. At least a couple foreigners were wet and freezing as they had not come prepared and were close to hypothermia. The hut owners were charging $5 for a small cup of hot cocoa and $7 for a cup of noodles. But when you’re cold and wet, you would pay black market prices to get something warm in your tummy.

Inside or outside?

As the sunrise time came closer, I decided to venture out into the storm to try and get a picture of the sunrise. Key word – try.

Sunrise?

We made it to the top of a 12,172 foot mountain to get buffeted and pelted by a freezing rain storm, all to see a magnificent sunrise. Instead we caught a brief flash of light at 4:46am, before the clouds quickly swallowed it back up. Such is life.

Where’s the view?

Photo opportunity. At least we got a sign to take our picture with, but we would rather have the sunrise. Pretty please.

Final stamp at Kusushi shrine

Getting the final stamp on my stick. I collected a total of 22 stamps on my stick, which cost about $36. We forgot to pray at the shrine.

Safe to go down?

No chance of walking around the crater in this weather. We had to pay one of the shop owners to get our postcards mailed from the summit, as it was out of the question to walk to the post office on the crater in this storm. We also paid $8 for a bowl of pork miso soup to help keep warm. At 6:45AM, the storm was still raging but at somewhat reduced strength, so we decided to make our way down. The trail is not the same as the one coming up. It connects to the 8th Station and then switchbacks all the way down to the 6th Station, bypassing all the huts and along with that the snacks, water and benjo (toilet). 

Windy trail down

The wind was literally pushing us around as we made our way down the Yoshida trail. We hugged the mountain side going down, as this trail section didn’t have any fencing to prevent us from being blown off the trail. It was that windy!

Snow in July!

We came across a patch of snow. Not enough to make a snowman, but enough for a snowball fight.

Going back to Tomoe-kan hut

Making our way back to the 8th station hut.

Picture taking time

As we got lower, the clouds started to clear up. Prompting almost everybody to stop and take out their cameras as it was a no view hike until now.

Clouds clearing

The cloud deck started opening up to reveal the mountains and lakes.

Fuji-san’s slope

Taking a small detour to get back to our hut to retrieve Mari’s backpack.

Slip and slide

Coming down the pitched volcanic ash trail tripped Mari going down. Luckily only her ego was bruised.

Go left, not right

Here the trail continues to the left on a narrow trail that continues down the mountain.

Extreme hiker?

We saw this one hiker that was not doing the switchbacks. He just ran down the side of the mountain using walking sticks as support and brakes. Not smart and safe for other hikers. As he was running down, he was dislodging rocks onto the trail and almost fell off. Mount Fuji is not a technical hike and can be done by most people of all ages in reasonable good physical condition. Now if you want to make this hike an extreme one, check out this link!

Nice view

A nice view of the scenery below us.

Bulldozer has the right of way

We saw numerous bulldozers coming up the trail as work crews started working on excavating new trails. This is how sick people get down the mountain.

Best anpan?

We took an anpan break at sign #42 at 9:05AM. The hut we bought it from said it was the best anpan, when you are hungry, your stomach will agree with anything. It was actually pretty tasty.

Views are getting better

As we kept dropping in altitude, the clouds starting to clear up along with great views. Too bad it wasn’t like this at the top!

Scenic viewpoint #1

Mari with Lake Yamanaka in the cloudy background.

Scenic viewpoint #2

The town of Fujikawaguchiko in the cloudy background.

Coming down

We passed the last set of tunnels that are supposed to protect hikers from falling rocks.

Need a ride back?

As we made our way back down, there were a couple of oji-sans (older men) with horses calling out to hikers if they wanted a ride back. For a small fee of course.

We made it!

We made it back down to the 5th station at 11:14am. The round trip was a total of 13.8 km or 8.57 miles. We gained 1,405 meters or 4,610 feet in elevation. We were both so happy to have completed the hike to Fuji-san. As the Japanese say, a wise man climbs Fuji once, and a fool twice. Call us fools as we will be back for our sunrise!