Mount Fuji (3,776m). Trailhead: Yoshida
Closest Station: Kawaguchiko
There is an old Japanese proverb about climbing Mount Fuji, loosely translated it says: "One who climbs Mt. Fuji is wise; one who climbs twice is a fool" - But how about 5 times? Perhaps a new line should be added. "and one who climbs more than twice is crazy".
So why did I hike Mount Fuji so many times in the summer? Truthfully, my first three ascents were all to see the legendary Fuji sunrise, as there is no place more fitting in the land of the rising sun.
Generally, Mount Fuji is only accessible for a brief 2.5 month period between July and mid-September, as the climbing conditions reach extremes in the colder months. But even in the summer there are quite a few accidents, most of which happen to unprepared hikers that underestimate the mountain. Which brings me to...
(1st climb) A foggy summer hike up Mount Fuji
It was actually the second mountain I climbed in Japan, right after Mount Takao. (Just like a typical tourist.) At the end of July in 2011, I went with my two university friends Josh & Sarah using the Yoshida route. We climbed it at night with the goal to see the famous sunrise, and although we had reached the top, a thick cloud blocked out any hopes for seeing the sun. Also we took the wrong trail down, which led us many extra hours through a forest down to the Subashiri Trail 5th Station. We were beyond exhausted, but looking back at it, it was a grand misadventure.
(2nd climb) Club Fuji
Did I ever have some wild hikes as well as some wild nights back in University. The combination of both resulted in club Fuji. A hilarious and spontaneous event where as the name implies, went clubbing on Mount Fuji... sort of. The idea was for a funny short video about going to a place called Club Fuji in Roppongi, getting drunk and having us wake up on the mountain. So after shooting the Tokyo scenes, myself, Rory, and Mikhail all went to Kawaguchiko station. After arriving at the station, we went to the convenience store to stock up on supplies/snacks, and Rory bought himself a 1L beer. We were too late to take the bus, so we all took a taxi. We started the climb around 10:00pm, and so we had roughly 7 hours to reach the top before sunrise. There was a funny moment when Rory was a bit behind us, and we asked if he was ok, to which his reply was "the beer is throwing me off balance!"
By the time we had reached the 7th station, it had started to rain. Rory & Mikhail were both eager to continue to push forward, but it was starting to get very slippery and dangerous. At our pace and with the weather, I knew there was no way we were going to reach the top before sunrise, and even if we did, it would most likely be raining at that time. We still moved forward, but by the time we reached the 8th station, the rain was even heavier. We all made the decision to stay at one of the cabins. While there, we shot some more scenes for the funny video and hung out with some of the other hikers that stayed there. The next morning we filmed the rest of the video from the 8th station and went back to Tokyo. We were all a bit disappointed that we never reached the top, but we still managed to make our really silly video.
(3rd climb) Finally seeing that legendary Sunrise
The following summer of 2013, Mikhail and I went back to Mt. Fuji to try our luck again. For the first time, the climbing conditions were absolutely perfect. We were both well prepared and made it to the top in record time. The problem however, was that we reached the top too early - arriving at the summit at only 3:00am! Even in the summer time, until the sun reaches the mountain, the top of mount Fuji easily falls below freezing, especially with the brutal wind chill. The shops are closed until sunrise, so our biggest challenge was finding ways to keep ourselves warm outside while waiting for the sun to come up. I hid myself away from the wind between some buildings while Mikhail walked around to keep his body temperature up. Finally, one of the huts opened and we rested there, huddling around an old stove heater. Shortly after, the sky began to lighten, and there it was - those first golden rays that lighted up the horizon. We finally saw that amazing view that was worth all the challenges.
(4th climb) Through a heavy storm & the worst cabin experience
It had been 3 years since Mikhail & I had last climbed Mt. Fuji, and in 2016 he offered me a job at his father's company. Alexei originally had a heart condition which led him to discover and be treated by mesenchymal stem cells, and after his own successful treatment, he had started a business promoting cellular therapy. But he wanted to prove to himself that his health really had improved, and so wanted to take on the challenge of Mt. Fuji. And so the 3 of us ventured out to the mountain. The plan was to "take it easy", and instead of doing it all in one long night, the plan was to hike up 80% the first day, and stay at a cabin, and then enjoy the sunrise the next morning. The weather was calling for "some clouds" the first day. It turned out to be anything but easy.
We arrived at the 5th station around 10:00am. Although the hike started off in the clouds, we soon found ourselves passing through them, experiencing a light rain which we were well prepared for. But as we got higher, around the 8th station, the light rain turned into a violent torrential downpour. There were several times we really debated heading back, but we were equally distant between the start and the rest hut, so in the middle of one of the worst rainfalls I've ever experienced on a hike, we pushed forward. Two hours later, drenched head to toe, we arrived at the mountain cabin.
It was around 3:30pm, and we were the first guests to arrive. Our first goal was to find a way to dry off all of our wet gear. My pocket wifi and some of their electronics were destroyed due to the rain damage. The cabin had some heaters but the staff refused to let us dry our clothes near them, even though there were no other guests at the time. We slowly let our clothes drip dry, and started to warm up. Alexei and I ordered some plain noodles, while Mikhail got one with beef. The guests started to arrive in the evening, and our goal was to sleep by 8:00pm and head out at 4:00am the next day to catch the sunrise from the top. Unlike the cabin Mikhail, Rory, and I stayed at in 2012, this one was as crowded as you could imagine - so much that we didn't even get our own blanket. Mikhail and Alexei shared one blanket, and I had to share with a stranger. With 80 people crammed into a little room it was amazing anyone could keep quiet. Sounds of sniffles, coughs, and snoring filled the room. We could sleep a little, only because we were so exhausted from the long climb. It was also so humid that at about 1:00am I crawled out of the bunk-bed, and went outside to breathe in some fresh air, and got to experience a wonderful starry night view and and all the city lights far below. I knew at least, we would be able to see another wonderful sunrise soon.
After trying to get some more rest, at 2:00am is when the singing started. A group of about 8 European climbers - possibly German from their accents - all decided to get up much earlier than the rest of us, and they did not know how to be quiet. One of them even started singing, standing right in front of us. And then --- silence. I looked over to see Alexei with his hand on the mans shoulder while giving him the most intimidating glare you could ever imagine. "Now is not the time for songs", he calmly said. And from then until 4:00am, there was a short period of quiet.
Still dead exhausted, we couldn't take being in the cabin any longer, and left at about 4:30am. Already the sky was getting brighter, so we made our way up the last push to the summit. Surprisingly, Mikhail seemed to be more tired than Alexei, and wanted to just head back despite being so close. I realized later in the day Mikhail had actually got some mild food poisoning (probably from the beef noodles he ordered at the cabin). Still, we all managed to get to the top and finish the journey. Alexei, who about 5 years before could hardly walk up a flight of stairs, was able to see the miraculous sunrise from the top of Japan. However, we didn't spend much time at the top as we were all just way too tired. The three of us pushed our way down quickly back to the 7th station and took good rest there before finishing the descent back to the bus stop, and then to Kawaguchiko station. We lucked out and caught a very nice "fancy train" back to Otsuki station, which Mikhail immediately fell asleep on.
(5th climb) I guess I'm an unofficial tour guide
The following year, after the "success" of our last journey, Alexei told the story to one of his business partners who wanted to hike the mountain. Alexei asked if I wanted to guide his business partner to the top, which was a good chance to get out of the hot summer office for a couple days. Learning from past mistakes, I made no reservations to stay at any cabin, as the last ordeal was much more exhausting than the "dangerous" bullet-climbing method. Fortunately we were both in good shape, and for the first time, the entire hike pretty much went perfectly as planned. There was a funny moment on the way down when resting near the 7th station, we watched a child turn the corner to see the long path ahead basically fall to his knees in disbelief, and then moments later saw a group of US military hikers do the same thing.
(6th Summer climb) The journey across the summit crown under the full moon
After my 2017 hike, I took the challenge to hike Fuji in the off season, but thats a completely different mountain and story of its own (so I'll be omitting it here). I went back to Mt. Fuji for the 6th summer hike (8th time total), and ascended the same route from the Fujinomiya 5th station. It was interesting how the weather in summer at night was around as cold as the winter trail. Fortunately, we had the full moon above us to illuminate the trail. However, for the first time, after reaching the Kengamine peak (which is a bit intimidating at night), my friend Sarah and I circled over the crown-shaped caldera until we reached the Yoshida trail summit. I was a bit surprised how far and narrow the path was that connected the two summits, but thankfully we made it across without any accidents. We camped out there under the stars for a couple hours. I lent my friend my sleeping bag while I wandered around for a few hours until the sun came out and then we both made the long trek back to the Yoshida 5th station.
(7th Ascent) A hot day trip up Fujinomiya
In 2023, for my 7th summer hike up Mount Fuji, I went with my hiking buddy Nadia and another colleague from my previous company. Asides from the rainy climb in 2016, this was my first time to do it all as a "day trip". What I didn't realize was there was no parking allowed at Fujinomiya (as the previous times were all done during winter or pandemic). So despite arriving super early, we had to wait in the parking lot for over an hour to get a taxi. By the time we started, it was already 7:15am, meaning we would be reaching the top at high noon. It was going to be a hot one... I spent the first few hours of the climb trying to hide from the bright UV rays by wearing my grandfather's Tilley hat and wrapping a bunch of sweat towels along the sides of my face. Our colleague had a leg cramp after the 8th station, and had to turn back. Nadia and I pushed for the top of Kengamine. After quickly snapping some pictures, we started to head down as quickly as possible, but we got trapped in several crowds of hikers near the summit and had another long wait for the bus back to the parking.
"To climb Mt. Fuji is to suffer", but the feeling of accomplishment to reach the top and see that amazing sunrise makes it worth the trouble. If you're just exhausted by the end, then it was still a successful hike.
Some love it, some hate it, but climbing Mount Fuji is definitely an adventure and test of character. The biggest moral of the story here is always have proper preparation and understanding that it is impossible to predict the weather here.
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