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.

Our fourth pilgrimage to the mountain of the rising sun. We arrived in Japan during the sweltering summer. Hot and humid was an understatement. Stick a chopstick in me, I’m done.

Trailhead

Today was Mountain Day in Japan, to provide “opportunities to get familiar with mountains and appreciate blessings from mountains.” With that being said, we packed our bags and left scorching Shinjuku to arrive three hours later in the crisp air of Gotemba New 5th station that used to be the old 2nd station. Must be the new math.

Gotemba Torii

The Gotemba station was a marked contrast to the almost carnival like atmosphere of the more popular Yoshida station where we had started from the previous three years. It barely left a footprint that consists of a small shop, bathrooms, bus stop and an adequate parking lot.

Gotemba Trail

We pushed off just shy of 10am to begin our hike on the Gotemba trail, which has been described as the most physically hardest route amongst the four trails leading to the summit. The starting elevation is at 1,440 meters (4,724′), which is 2,738′ lower than the more popular Yoshida trail. More elevation to climb. More cardio. Huffing and puffing.

Oishi-chaya

Last chance for refreshments and … hiking sticks. The old shop lady was calculating, probably pegged me as a tourist due to my non-native language skills, 1200 yen … (wait, longer stick) 1900 yen… (wait, stamps ) 2400 yen… (wait, flag) … okay, 2900 yen ($29). Domo arigato gozaimasu.

Gotemba Trail

Leaving the conveniences of civilization behind us.

Gotemba Trail

Japanese knotweeds with their red flowers and green leaves offered a colorful contrast against the volcanic gravel.

Mount Futago

Mari passing the twin mountains of Futatsuzuka Uezuka and Futatsuzuka Shitazuka. No detour. Stay on the trail.

Gotemba Trail

The national park covers 474 square miles that includes Mount Fuji, Fuji Five Lakes, Hakone, Izu Peninsula and Izu Islands. No entrance fee. Just a 1,000 yen ($10) donation at the trailhead and you get a shiny button to pin on your backpack.

Gotemba Trail

Clouds rolling down the featureless terrain.

Old 2.5 station

Sitting down at the Jirobo trail marker at an elevation of 1,920 meters (6,300′).

Gotemba Trail

Starting at a lower altitude than from prior years, helped Mari cope with the transition to thinner air.

Gotemba Trail

What’s for lunch? Anpan and Pocari Sweat. Tastes better than it sounds.

Gotemba Trail

Hiking in the clouds. The trail had zero shade. Nature provided shade in the form of rolling clouds.

Gotemba Trail

Trail crew passing us on the way down. Hard hats. Safety first.

Gotemba Trail

On a good day, you can clearly see the summit of Fuji. Cloudy conditions made it less than an ideal day.

Gotemba Trail

Where there are clouds, rain can not be far behind.

6th Station-Goya

Our first hut and it was closed. There are very few huts on this side of the mountain, as compared to the more popular Yoshida trail.

Gotemba Trail

Zig. Zag. Switchback hiking. Zag. Zig.

Gotemba Trail

Hikers were few and far in between on this trail, along with the mountain greetings of “konnichiwa” exchanged between hikers.

Mount Hoei

Mari standing in front of Mt. Hoei, a flank volcano, standing at 2,693 meters. In other words, a pimple on Mt. Fuji.

Gotemba Trail

Mari at the 3,000 meter mark (9,842′).

Hinode-kan

We arrived at the first open hut at 5pm. No bags of rice for sale here.

Waraji-kan

Hey, that flag is bigger than mines.

Yakiin

Every hut has a branding iron specific to them that they will happily impress on your hiking stick. 300 yen ($3) please.

Waraji-kan

High above the clouds. Notice the snowboard-turned-seat in the background.

Sunabashiri-kan

Another hut. Another stamp. Another 300 yen ($3) shelled out.

Sunabashiri-kan

Scenic spot. Once we climbed above the rain clouds and showers, we were blessed with beautiful weather on the mountain.

Gotemba Trail

I hope that’s our hut. This trail was getting the better of me. Lack of sleep was not helping either. I know. Excuses. Excuses.

Akaiwahachigo-kan

Reservations for Saito? We got to our hut sweet hut for the night at 6:20pm. Prince Naruhito, future Emperor of Japan, stayed in this hut in 2008.

Akaiwahachigo-kan

All you can eat curry and hot tea. Free bathrooms. Stacked like sardines horizontally and vertically. Stuffed into musty futons. No prince treatment for us. Mountain hut living at its finest.

Akaiwahachigo-kan

We left the relative warmth of our shuttered hut at 4:14am to venture outside to a 48 degree morning to wait for the sunrise.

Akaiwahachigo-kan

The morning glow of the sun breaking through the clouds.

Akaiwahachigo-kan

Sunrise at 4:59am. Slightly delayed by cloud cover.

Gotemba Trail

Ringing the bell on our way to the summit at 5:33am.

Gotemba Trail

Nothing like cold mountain air to get your blood flowing in the early morning.

Gotemba Trail

Looking back at the sea of clouds.

Miharashi-kan

Multiple choice. Is this hiker a) passed out from the thin air b) shielding his eyes from the unfiltered sun or c) deeply disappointed to find out that the hut is closed?

Gotemba Trail

Monument to all the fallen hikers that failed to summit. Actually it’s meant to recognize and honor the people that created this rugged trail.

Gotemba Trail

Panoramic view looking down.

Gotemba Trail

The final push to the summit.

Gotemba Trail

We summited Mount Fuji around 7:30am.

Mount Fuji Summit

Standing on the edge of the crater as wind gusts threatened to blow us into the maw of the active volcano. Active what?

Gotemba Trail

Neither snow nor rain nor cold nor high altitude will stay your postcard from being slowly delivered from the highest mountain in the land. Summit temperature was a cool 42 degrees. Not counting wind chill.

Gotemba Trail

We left the summit a little past 8am. No walk around the crater this year. Too cold and tired. Next year.

Gotemba Trail

Hiking back down into the clouds.

Gotemba Trail

All downhill. Back to zigging and zagging.

Gotemba Trail

Making our way back down to our hut to get Mari’s backpack. Some huts will allow you to leave your backpack to lighten your load as you hike to the summit.

Gotemba Trail

Goodbye Fuji-san. We will see you again next year.

Gotemba Trail

Last chance to use the bathroom. All out of 100 yen coins.

Gotemba Trail

Panoramic view of the trail going down.

Gotemba Trail

That’s one way of taking the load off your back. Sledding it down the mountain.

Gotemba Trail

We left the 6th hut and the mind numbing switchbacks for …

Osunabashiri

… the start of the “great sand run.”

Osunabashiri

The trail turned into a bed of thick volcanic ash that goes down for 7 km (4.34 miles).

Osunabashiri

Clouds started to roll up the mountain, blocking the promised panoramic view of the mountains and city below us.

Osunabashiri

It paid to have gaiters or spats to prevent the fine volcanic pebbles from getting into our shoes. I saw several hikers stopped on the sides of the trail emptying out their shoes.

Osunabashiri

While at the hut, we heard that there was an injured hiker on the trail. I met this paramedic who was looking for said hiker. Kept on looking.

Osunabashiri

Running down the trail as my feet sank up to my ankles with each stride going down. It was crazy fun.

Gotemba Trail

Mari making her way down, the hiking sticks came in handy to help brake our sometimes rapid descent.

Gotemba Trail

Still no view as we made our way down, passing hikers going up the mountain.

Gotemba Trail

No stopping at the hut. Don’t want to get trapped into overpriced and unnecessary trinkets again.

All pau

We got back down around 1pm. Our bus back to the train station was at 3:35pm. So much time on our hands. What to do? Filled out a survey. Japanese language only. Here comes the rain again. Fired up my Jetboil and boiled a bowl of beef pho and a cup of hot chocolate. Chatted with a fellow American named John who was from Virginia. Contemplated sharing a taxi to the train station to cut down on the wait time. But in the end, we boarded the bus along with a dozen other smelly hikers to the train station that took us back to Shinjuku.

GPS Tracks

Our fourth and hardest hike up Mount Fuji started off cloudy and rainy and ended up with crisp weather, stunning scenery and another epic sunrise. The hike covered 10.44 miles with an elevation gain slightly over 7,600′. Congrats to Mari for finishing her fourth and hardest hike up Mount Fuji. Post hike meal at Coco’s. I come back every year to this restaurant for their Tomato Seafood Spaghetti. Add hot sauce. Broke da mouth.

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.