As I mentioned in my last post, I climbed Mt. Fuji! AND I survived! Round trip, it was a two day adventure. I left Mito at 11:00AM and returned around 4:30PM the next day. It felt like getting to and from the mountain took just as long as climbing the mountain itself.. obviously that’s not true. From Mito to Fuji it was about 3.5 hours. There’s not direct way to Fuji so we had to take 3 busses to get to the mountain. The busses weren’t bad but I do wish there were an easier way of getting there. But, oh well.
My friends and I started station 5, on Mt. Fuji which is about 2,305 meters high. After adjusting to the altitude change for about 45 minutes, we began hiking around 8:30PM until about 4:30AM when we reached the top. Just in time to see the sun rise. We battled wind, rain, cold (55 degrees), and rocks. What we thought was going to be a nice night for a hike turned out to be a night of racing against the clouds. In the end, we lost and like many others ran to find shelter to put on our rain gear..at least the gear that we had (some (I) had to buy extra rain gear). BUT! That didn’t keep us from reaching the top! I only doubted my decision to be there for about an hour while it rained, but I’m glad I ignored myself and continued on.
There are 4 different paths to hike Fuji. Two, start at on the mountain (station 5) and two start at the bottom of the mountain. Of the two pats from station 5 one is on the north side of the mountain and the other is on the south side. The north side is more famous among hikers so it’s a bit more crowded, but, you’re guaranteed to see the sun rise no matter how far you are from the top. The south side, is less crowded and a shorter hike. However, it’s more difficult than the north side, steeper, and you have to make it to the stop to see the sun rise otherwise you’ll just be starring at a mountain. Can you guess which route my friends and I took? Hint: not the North side.
There are various stations along the hike where we can rest, buy snacks, drinks, sleep (some people make this a two day hike), go to the bathroom. It’s a good way to meet other hikers as long as the stations were open and if people weren’t sleeping we had to be quiet. Some stations served food making you forget that it’s 3AM and you’re cold and soaking wet from the rain. I wonder how the stations closer to the top get their supplies… I know I wouldn’t want to be the one making those deliveries.
Once we got to the top, the sun was starting to rise. The view was so breath taking, no picture could do it justice. Maybe hiking for 8 hours makes it that much better as well. The top is cold and windy but the view is definitely worth it. There’s a shrine at the top and if you buy one of their hiking sticks, you can get a stamp on it saying you made it to the top. After admiring the view and resting our legs a bit, we made the 8 hour hike back down the mountain to go home. The only thing I remember about going home was waking up to transfer trains. And when I got home I went straight to bed and just slept.
Overall, this trip showed me that I would not make a very good boy scout. I wasn’t prepared for the rain, which in turn made everything in my backpack sopping wet. I think the only way I was prepared was physically. I had some friends that were very sore and I’m happy to say that I wasn’t sore at all. ?
I’m very happy I did this hike and I don’t think I would have been able to do it without my friends. I definitely think it’s something that anyone who is able to do it, should do. Whether or not I’ll do it again, well, I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. If I do decide to go again, I think I’ll take the easier route on the North side.
Now, it’s time to get ready for school! Opening ceremony is just a couple days away so things will be busy… for Japanese teachers.
