Climbing Fuji-San

August 23 was an epic day in our history book, as we achieved our goal of hiking to the summit of Mount Fuji! Fuji-San is Japan's highest mountain, standing 3,776 meters (12,388 feet) tall. Facing potentially inclement weather and the ever-present threat of altitude sickness, we began our trek into the unknown with several other hikers from NAF Atsugi on our MWR tour. Fortunately, our friends Marilyn and Mike also hiked that day and we were able to experience the climb with great companions :-).

The beast taunts us as we approach by bus.

The hike up Mt. Fuji begins at a point called the 5th station, and continues with stopping points at stations 6, 7, 8 and 9 (with other subsequent huts) before reaching the top. It was surprisingly cool at the 5th station, so we donned our warmer clothing sooner than expected. Our weather on the way up was moderate. Cloudy enough to block the sun and allow views, until the rain began about half way up. At that point we stepped proudly into our 100 yen ($1) store rain gear, aka "hazmat suits", and took on the mountain along with the precipitation.

Away we go!



We were very impressed with the well-engineered retaining walls throughout the trail.

Into the clouds! (Can you see the coastline?)

 

All smiles on the trail (we stopped grimacing for the photos :-))!

 

Each station and intermediate stop on the way up offers climbers a wood-burned stamp to mark their progress on iconic Fuji walking sticks. We opted for the mini version since we already had trekking poles and the mini would be easier to hang on our wall :-). So up we went, collecting stamps, and slowing but surly tackling the switchbacks and lava rocks until we finally reached the summit. Victory! No sickness...double victory!

Collecting our stamps!

Mike and Marilyn tackle the trail!

 

John and Jennifer at the iconic summit tori gate.

 

We did it!

We were intent on getting the most out of our journey so we decided to circumnavigate the volcanic crater, although the weather did not appear to be cooperating. Fortunately for us, the clouds parted just as we began our walk, giving us excellent views of the crater and a seemingly diverse collection of mineral-laden rocks. We were amazed by all of the brilliant colors in the soil at the top of this isolated peak.

Look at those red rocks!

Volcanic crater!

Next was the journey down. The easy part, right? Not so much. Walking downhill of course comes with its own set of downsides (pun fully intended), however Fuji-San takes it to a whole new level. Hours of extremely steep and gravelly switchbacks almost make you wish you were going uphill again. Nevertheless, we managed to cautiously descend without falling and make it back to the bus in plenty of time to peel off our rain gear, purchase a commemorative magnet (our refrigerator is becoming something very special :-)) and settle in to the cushy bus seats for a well-earned snooze on the ride home.

Switchbacks, anyone?

Thank you, Mt. Fuji for an incredible day (~6 hours up, ~1.5 hours around the crater, ~3 hours down) and a memorable adventure!

P.S. - For anyone looking to ascend "the beast", hiking season is during July and August each year :-)!