Climbing Mt. Fuji

Mt. Fuji, one of Japan's outstanding icons was granted World heritage cultural site recently. I conquered its peak back in 2012 four months after I had arrived in Japan. As the season for this adventure has already kicked in, I shed a few pointers for the newbies and first timers to Fuji san, and also share my experiences exactly two years ago. Mt. Fuji lies about 100km from Tokyo and is open for climbing only during summer and that's around June to September only.

Map of Mt. Fuji with climbing route and station names

Mt. Fuji as viewed from the 5th station (Gogome)

I still remember my adventure to Mt. Fuji. The day still strikes deep in my head. It was a lovely Friday afternoon when we set out from Tokyo. I and my two Japanese friends. We were all ready in attire including footwear (Note: You need to have the right footwear especially and enough warm clothing for the cold climb) . We arrived at the 5th station around 4pm and prepared ourselves to start climbing at 6pm (All climbers start here and several services are available). We had a light meal and purchased some few necessary items to facilitate our climb (Note: It is better to buy most of your necessary items here as they are more expensive at the higher stations).

That's the brief start to our adventurous 16 hours. I bring it to your attention at this time of the Moutain Fuji climbing season. I suspect though, that this time it will be doubly crowded especially after it was crowned world heritage site. The last time I was there in 2012 it was back to back congested up to the peak. I want to think this was because it was a weekend adventure. 

Line of people climbing Mt. Fuji on 26th August 2012

Our goal was to be able to see the beautiful sunrise at the peak of this 3776m mountain. This we actually achieved as we reached the peak just in time for sunrise at about 04:20am. The weather was perfect throughout the climbing duration - about 8 degrees at the top. There are several other stations along the way and places of convenience (resting, food, and a few other services including lodging). The climbing routes are very clear, though I felt that some places are not so safe (open cliffs) and on congested days, a little stumble at such places may not be a good experience.

Sunrise at the peak of Mt. Fuji

Descending back to the 5th station was via a different route, and for me it was the harder part and yet it took the least time. It was a tiring and interesting adventure anyway. You only have to experience it to fully understand especially if you are first timer to mountain climbing. But like they say "Only a fool climbs Fuji san twice", I have no intention of doing a repeat! For some things only once is enough. All the best  in your adventure.