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| 5th station |
Well, I conquered mt. Fuji and about killed myself doing it, but it has
been beat! Here's the break down. Climbing for two days to see the
sunrise. First we took a plane from Miyazaki(宮崎） Japan to Handeda
airport(羽田空港). We pre-booked a bus from Haneda to the 5th station on mt. Fuji. It took about three hours and made several stops at Fuji land theme park and finally the 5th station. Once we arrived it was really busy. It looks a bit like a ski-lodge and many people were milling about. It was easy to tell who would be climbing the mountain and who was there for sightseeing. You could easily see the mountain top with a bit of snow on it. There was lots of お土産 souvenirs that could be purchased. The most popular was a walking stick. It was made of sturdy wood and already had the fifth level seal on it. As you go up you can get a new seal for every level. Things are a bit expensive like water $5ish dollars, we ate some udon and made our way up. It was already noticeably colder and as we stared the clouds rolled across our paths.
Yoshida trail head. Start time July 27th 6:00pm
5th---& 6th station
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| short and easy, also very flat |
This was short and easy. The ground is packed solid and you are surrounded by greenery. We hiked for a short bit and some of the ground was even paved flat. Not many people around, but lots of weary looking people hiking down the mountain. It gives you a good idea of how you'll feel coming down the next day.I bought the walking stick because of advice from a friend who had climbed earlier and I do not regret it. At first I felt stupid walking with a stick on flat group, but it became an invaluable tool as I slide down the mountain on the return trail. I wore a heat tech shirt, t-shirt, water proof pants that zip into shorts, leggings, a hiking backpack, soy joy bars, 2L of water in a soft water bottle, and calorie mate bars. This was perfect and I used it all. I also recommend carrying a head lamp, hat, gloves, and sun glasses.
6th---->7th station
This was also short but more difficult to climb. The flat ground sloped up and the dirt became more gravely and loose. This was actually harder to climb than some of the rocks. This is where you start to notice the thin air. Your heart will pound and make you a bit dizzy if you try to keep a fast pace. Take frequent rest and it will be fairly easy. Because we climbed in the afternoon, by this point it became dark and it was impossible to see anything without a flashlight. Do not climb this without a light, way too dangerous, seeing as there are no barriers or bars to stop you from falling. I was in a group of seven people and we didn't all make it together.
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| 7th station. |
7th--->8th station
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| 8th station |
This was the longest and worst part. At this point it was pitch black out and everyone was huffing and puffing at different paces. I went slow and steady, while others preferred to go super slow, or every fast up the mountain. I got a wee bit loopy as we went higher and just focused on not slipping or falling. We all split up and reached the eight station at different time. There are multiple cabins/huts on each station. I rested at every single one also getting a new stamp as I relaxed. This is where I noticed people getting sick and breaking out with the oxygen cans. I tried using them but didn't notice much of a difference. We reached the eight station at 11:00pm. It took me five hours to climb to level 8 slowly.
Rest house!
So we booked a rest house via the phone numbers listed on websites. We stayed at the Fuji hotel on the 8.5ish level. If wasn't a hotel but more like a cabin with rows of sleeping space. Bring your earplugs because people will be chilling outside your rooms and shifting around. The price was a bit much but our included dinner and breakfast. Dinner was water and curry rice which at the time was delicious. There is no running water on Fuji so there was no place to shower or change clothes, I just slept in what I was wearing. Breakfast was rice and a fish sauce. All super carbs good for hiking up mountains. I slept until 2am and then started hiking. There were tons of people outside hiking up without staying in a hut. I think next time I would just continue straight up to the top. This is also the station where I started to feel sick. I was dizzy and my heart was pounding. Not going to lie but I was throwing up from the 8th level up. Luckily because there are so many people the pace is slow.
To the top!
The final climb was hell. Dizzy, sick, and every step felt like I was going to fall over. I love cold weather so I was fine but lots of people were bundled up. You will need the gloves because the path just turns to giant rocks you have to climb over.
I managed to get there for sunrise, but barely. Notice in the pictures its bright, but the sun is not up yet. You can continue through the gate and get some food or secure a spot to sit on to see the actual sun rise. Once it comes up people start cheering and then there is a banzai chant. If your ambitious you can continue around the crater. It takes about 1hr 30minutes. The last 600m were sooooo slow. It took me about 1hr to traverse the last bit due to exhausted and unsteady people.
I felt awful but the sunrise was really beautiful. After the sun has risen everyone rushes down the mountain to catch buses and rest. Once the sun came up I was hot, and the sunglasses came in handy. Sunrise started around 4:30am on the Sunday.
Top sunrise and the four that made it to the top!
Going down
This was a different path that met back up with the original path around the 6th station. It was super steep and made of extremely soft gravel and volcanic rock. To me, this was harder than going up on the knees, and hips. Your toes will also slide to the front of your shoes giving you blisters. There's absolutely nothing to see on the way down, except the sun. Bring sunscreen or you'll get burnt. It took me 4 hours to get down the mountain going slowly and making sure not to fall off the mountain. Two walking sticks would have made this much easier but there are no shop, only two toilet stops, and no where to sit except on the group.
Finishing time 9:00am Sunday July 29th.
Time spent on mountain: 14 hours
Time spent climbing: 11 hours
I took the staff back with me and its a pretty cool souvenir, if you don't want to lug around a huge stick buy the mini key chain version. Once at the bottom the altitude sickness was gone and I ate everything I could afford. Caught the next bus out to Shinkuku.
