Fuji-san 2019

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

Passing the pine tree lined trail.

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

Zig zagging our way up through the switchbacks.

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

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

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

Clouds starting to drift in as we gained elevation.

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

Mari gave me back my hiking stick …

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

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

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

Rocks drink sake?

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

Isolated pockets of green plants pimpled the barren volcanic landscape.

Silhouetted hikers on the cloud soaked trail.

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

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

Hiking above the clouds.

Following the signs to Yoshida trail.

Passing the 8th station.

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

The clouds constantly changing the landscape.

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

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

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

Time to finally sit down and relax for the night.

Our hut sweet hut for the night.

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

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.

The billowing clouds muted and distracted the sunset.

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

Joining the early morning crowds outside.

Catching the breaking sunrise before the rain swept the mountain.

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.

Morning rush hour in the mountain.

The swirling clouds filtered the green landscape below us.

Shuffling through the loose switchbacks.

Enjoying the panoramic landscape of the five lakes of Fuji.

Just follow the signs down.

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

Sometimes you just have to stop and enjoy the views.

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

We met up with two of our hut mates.

I guess shelter is not needed from falling rocks.

Falling rocks anybody?

Passing through the closed station.

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

The trail to the bottom of Fuji. Next time.

Cobbling our way down.

Enjoying the forest bath on our way down.

Where the climbing route meets the walking route.

Water for us?

Goodie bags for the runners.

Please take our picture.

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

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

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

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.

Tagged as: edoya, fuji-san, fuji-yama, miharashi-kan, mount fuji, munatsuki-edoya, osada-sanso, seto-kan, subashiri trail, taiyo-kan, tomoe-kan, yoshida trail