I wouldn’t say that I did a lot of research before climbing Mt. Fuji. Sure, I looked into the logistics part of it, weighed options (that would mean less expenditure, primarily), and looked at the basics on what to do and what not to do. Other than that, nothing else. I saw some clips off a few Japanese TV shows (thanks, Arashi and Nakai-san!) showing a glimpse of the trail experience and read some blogs. But no more than that. This was one of those things that I was just partly winging. (And before I proceed, lemme just say CONGRATULATIONS BTS AND ARMY FOR THE BBMAs TOP SOCIAL ARTIST BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK WIN AND THE FIRST EVER TOP GROUP AWARD! *proudArmyNoonarighthurrr*)
WARNING #1: Image-heavy post. I suggest you let the page load first.
WARNING #2: TL;DR. But you might wanna. Still. Just a suggestion… ya know. Wouldn’t hurt.
Picking up from my previous post, where I talked about what it took to get here and why we chose this trail, we started the hike with light steps. I say “light” lightly, because I knew it was going to get harder from this point on. I guess the only thing on my mind at that time was “please don’t rain, summer day”.
11:55 am
Even from the assembly area at the Mt. Fuji 5th Station where hikers were all gathered prepping for the climb ahead, you can already tell that they all came from all walks of life. Caucasian, Asian, Blacks… clearly the popularity of Japan and its most iconic mountain is as strong as ever.
But if I may, I think I saw more locals than foreign climbers that day. And while there were a lot of solo climbers, there were a lot who came in groups as well. Families with young kids and groups of teenagers who’re clearly having a good time hanging out together, going by their uproarious conversations on the trail.
And, of course, there are the larger groups, which are usually the organized ones, those arranged with agencies and tour groups. I noticed how they were mostly suited in the same color outer wear, or same hiking boots, which identified them with the group they are in.
So far, so good. From the jump-off point, the first fifteen minutes was basically a dirt road on the side of the mountain, which then forked off into a narrower, steeper trail, which brought us to another narrower dirt road with loose soil and gravel. My second least favorite type of surface (the first is mud, in case you’re wondering).
12:25 noon
We arrived at what I’d like to call a “crossroads” which intersects with the trail leading to the Mt. Fuji Summit, the Yoshida Trailhead (which is at the base of Mt. Fuji), and Mt. Fuji Subaru Line 5th Station (where we came from).
It also looks like some sort of a checkpoint. It has boards with reminders and warnings to climbers, as well as portalets, or portable toilets, for those who want to do their business before starting their assault.
For those wondering whether they can climb to the summit at night, take night of their precaution against “bullet climbing”.
Considering how there aren’t really any toilets along the trail to the summit, it is advised to take care of all your business and answer the call of nature while you’re here. There may be some at the mountain huts you’d be passing by, but considering the thickness of the crowd, and that you’d have to pay to “use the loo” (at least 200 JPY, depending on what business it is), it’s best to play it safe and take care of everything while you’re here.
We also noticed how the larger organized climbing groups did their final checks and briefing here.
12:30 noon
We didn’t hang out for long at the crossroads. Especially as, looking up, we can see how much of a loooong way up we have yet to go.
I’m really glad it wasn’t too hot that day. It is still, after all, summertime in Japan, and their summers can be notoriously sweltering hot. But at this elevation, the cold coming from the summit somehow worked to put that summer heat under control. The temperature was just right, although seeing the fog-shrouded summit, and the trail way up ahead, did make me worry about rain pouring a little later.
If you notice from the pic above, the trail zigs and zags up the mountain, instead of a straight line.
Sure, if it were in a straight line, it’d probably be much faster to climb. But then that means it will also be steeper, not to mention more dangerous, because the trail’s surface is loose gravel and soil, making the hike a bit more difficult.
So I did see the wisdom in doing the zigzag thing. It did make the hike seem that much longer, though, but I see it. *sigh*
Another thing I noticed is the number of solo hikers, particularly women. Security in numbers, I suppose? Climbing season in Mt. Fuji sees hundreds to thousands of hikers on the trail on a single day, which means going at it alone won’t exactly feel like you’re… well, alone. There are other hikers who are friendly enough to strike up conversations along the way.
However, if you’re trying to catch your breath, I doubt there’d be much decent conversation to be made. I was with my friend Rog, and many times during the hike, we were just left to our own thoughts. And that was all right.
1:15 pm
At some point the dirt-strewn path ended and the trail turned into… rocks.
Now this was boon and bane, both a relief and torture.
Because on one hand, there’s no loose gravel to tread on. On the other, the rocks are jagged and craggy on many parts, and they are also much steeper.
This is where the first of the mountain huts are located. Not my conventional idea of a “mountain hut”, but that’s what they’re called. More precisely, however, they are called “tomoe-kan” or “mountain lodge”, which I think fits better.
7th Station
At 1:15 pm, we arrived at the 7th Station, which is 2,700 meters above sea level. From here, it’s 3.8km to the summit of Mt. Fuji.
There are three mountain lodges at the 7th Station: Hana-goya, Hinode-kan, and the 7th Station Tomoe-kan.
Earlier, we wondered when the zigzag rock-soil trail would end. This time, we wondered when the rocky trail would end.
Unlike the trails I encountered in Bukhan-san (I blogged about that here and here) and Halla-san (video here), the rocks here weren’t carved into feet-friendlier steps/stairs. They are rocks in their rawest form, and it was a bit of a challenge having to go up the ones with higher treads. Haha! #shortgirlproblems
But there were handholds or makeshift rails made of sturdy rope or chains on the more precarious parts, so… kudos to the people managing this place.
By the way, I read in several blogs that, if you want to take a souvenir from this climb, a walking stick would be a good one. I think I mentioned before how I’m not really one who likes to use walking sticks or hiking sticks, because I prefer my hands to be free.
But this time I bit the bullet and bought the stick. And had them stamped at every stop along the way.
Now, each stamp would cost somewhere between 200JPY to 300JPY. All in all, I’ve had my stick stamped 13 times. I think all in all, I could have had it stamped 15 or 16 times, approximately equal to the number of stops we made along the way. So yeah, I think I spent an average of 3000 JPY on having my walking stick stamped.
Adding the cost of the stick itself… man, looking back now, that’s one pricey stick. No wonder I couldn’t let it go even as we were traveling from city to city the following week.
At several points along the trail, there are markers informing you where you are, how far you are from the summit, and how many minutes are left before you can reach the summit.
I don’t think the minutes are entirely reliable, though, because there are a lot of factors to take into account. The number of people could result in the trail being congested, so the climb would be slow going, so you won’t really be able to keep to the number of minutes as indicated.
The mountain lodges also have stores that sell souvenirs, food items and whatnot. Of course, the prices are noticeably steeper than they normally are if you purchased them at the station or prior to coming for the climb.
We also saw some hiking gear and accessories being sold, such as headlights and raincoats. Even portable oxygen sold in what looked like aerosol canisters, or those containers that resemble butane canisters. These portable oxygen canisters are sold for 1200JPY each.
At the Kamaiwakan, another lodge at the 7th Station, bottled water and Red Bull costs 400JPY, apiece, while hot coffee is priced at 300JPY. In vending machines, the average price for these beverages is 130JPY.
Cup noodle is 500JPY, while a Snickers bar is 250JPY. *shudder*
2:10pm
There’s no shortage of views, by the way, whether you look right, left, up, or even back down.
There are also some torii gates at several points of the trail, and these vermillion gates look so beautiful when viewed from below.
This one, for instance, is the Torii-so, located where the Toyo-kan mountain lodge is, as if welcoming weary hikers. From here, it is 3.2km to the summit, and around 262 minutes away. Ideally.
As we continued on, the trail just kept getting steeper and steeper. But the distance between the mountain lodges is also becoming shorter. The crowd is also becoming thinner, because some of the hikers have made reservations at the mountain lodges along the way, so that is their stop.
For us, we had reserved the other Tomoe-kan further up.
But of course, no one prohibits hikers from stopping at any of the mountain lodges to catch their breath and rest for a bit.
I grew a bit weary of reading the markers and realizing that, after all that heaving and hopping (well, not really), we only made progress of .50 meters. It’s crazy, but I guess at this point, elevation and gravity are your worst enemies.
That, and your own weight. *coughs*
2:31 pm
I thought we were making good time, my friend and I. Our goal was to reach our mountain lodge before it gets dark, because it’d really suck to have to scramble over rocks when there’s not enough light.
At this point, I was also wondering when we’d reach our lodge. And every lodge I see up ahead made me feel hopeful, only to feel a bit disappointed when I get there and realize that NOPE, THIS IS NOT IT GOTTA CLIMB MORE.
8th Station
At 3pm, we arrived at the 8th Station, which has a First Aid Center for those who require assistance.
At this point, the temperature was already starting to drop. The wooden thermometer at the Taishi-kan showed it was 9 degrees Celsius, and it was bound to get colder from this point on.
As you can see, the fog was also getting thicker, and the wind getting a bit more aggressive.
2km or 120 minutes away from the summit, it started to drizzle a bit, so we all brought out our waterproof jackets or raincoats. I packed the one I bought the previous year when we climbed Halla-san while the rain was pouring, haha!
3:55pm
I felt we were getting closer to our mountain lodge. I was hopeful, more like. There are definitely lesser people now, the only ones left were the ones who reserved in the mountain lodges higher up (like us) and those who weren’t able to make reservations and decide to brave the cold night and dawn close to the summit in just their sleeping bags (because setting up tents is not allowed).
Finally! At 4:20 pm, we made contact. Haha!
I mean, we finally arrived at the 8th Station Tomoe-kan, where we made reservations. All in all, it took us 4 hours and 25 minutes to get here. Much colder, stronger winds, shower’s gone, and the staff at the lodge were very welcoming, so we let their warmth embrace us.
I’ll be talking about our Tomoe-kan experience in the next post. Till then, see ya, and thanks for reading up to this point.
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