Originally I was supposed to climb Mt. Fuji with a couple friends at the beginning of August. However, the date that was selected was the day before my trip to the Kita Alps. Sadly I had to decline. Then, about a week ago, my friend messaged me out of the blue, asking me if I wanted to go to Fuji this weekend (Aug 30/31). Of course I wanted to go and so we went. I arranged to meet them in Utsunomiya, from where we would start. I got to the station at 8 pm and hopped in the car. Car wouldn't start. Dead battery. So the Japanese equivalent of BCAA was called and about 40 minutes to an hour later they came and jumped the battery. People here don't carry jumper cables in their cars. If only they did, it wouldn't have taken so long to get going.
We started on our journey to Yamanashi prefecture, but first stopped to pick up an extra battery. We were afraid to turn the car off, lest the car wouldn't start again!
We finally made it to Fujiyoshida City (富士吉田市), home of the Yoshida trail that goes to the summit of Mt. Fuji. There are 4 routes up the mountain and they start in different prefectures: Shizuoka or Yamanashi. The most popular is probably Kawaguchiko 5th station (we started there) because it is most easily accessible by bus. Other stations include Subashiri 5th station, Gotemba 5th station, and Fujinomiya 5th station. We arrived at about 1 am, and attempted to get into a business hotel. Unfortunately the hotels nearby were full, so we parked at a Lawson and slept in the car. It was the most uncomfortable sleep ever. The car was small and parked on the side of a busy highway with lots of big trucks. Every time one passed, the car would rock. Despite the unfortunate conditions, we managed a few hours of low quality sleep and were up by 4:30-5:00 am. We ate, changed, and headed out to the 5th station to start our ascent.
We started hiking around 6:30 am. The morning air was cool and the wind was beginning to pick up. The first part of the trail, ~ 2 km, is fairly easy and relatively flat, the last 4 km is up, up, up. So at about 7 am we began climbing in earnest. When you looked up to the top, it didn't seem too long... But it was.
Before the 6th station, the wind picked up and started to blow clouds of dust and small rocks. The dust would get everywhere... Including in my ears, nose, eyes, mouth and down my shirt. Ugh! After the sixth station it was all uphill. There was no respite. The view from Mt. Fuji is gorgeous, but Mt. Fuji in the flesh (or rather rock) is not beautiful. We rested often. After about 2 hours we ate. At the huts everyone was sucking back oxygen or eating ¥600 cup noodle. Ridiculous!
After we reached 3100 m, it was noticeably more difficult to climb. Breaks were more frequent and breathing was heavier and faster. At the eighth station, not sure which one, I saw a child puking. Altitude sickness. Mt. Fuji is not a destination for serious hikers. It is full of people that do not know or practice proper hiking etiquette. For example, most people were carrying silly Mt. Fuji walking sticks, but they would drag them behind them, almost hitting or spearing the people behind them. Many people looked quite out of their element and did not come well prepared. I saw lots of children, which I think is quite inappropriate, because I had a lot of trouble with the wind. If I had trouble, how well would a kid cope? There were also lots of obnoxious Americans on the mountain, from naval or Air Force bases. Bleh. It upsets me to think I would be lumped into the same group as them. The things they would say were rude, they spoke as if they thought no one could understand them. It's a little presumptuous I think.
After about 5.5 hours we reached the summit. It was freezing at the top. The wind was VERY chilling. I loved it. I completely enjoyed the feeling of being cold. I loved wearing my coat and gloves too. It's a feeling I won't get for another few months, so I relished it as best as I could. At the top of Mt. Fuji there is a shrine and some huts that sell hot food (at outrageous prices) and souvenirs. I bought some lucky charms from the shrine and my companions bought food. After refueling, we walked around for a bit and went to the crater. The wind was so strong that I was afraid to get close to the edge. My battle with the wind was truly epic, and it didn't finish until I was down the mountain.
After taking the requisite photos, we started our descent. We followed the Yoshida trail down, but the descending trail was a different route than the one we took up the mountain. I wish we would have taken the same path down as we did up... The trail was just 4 nasty kilometers of switchbacks. The ground was a loose dusty/sandy/gravelly concoction that got in my shoes and socks. It was very unpleasant and terrifically unscenic (I made that word up). I definitely had to grit my teeth and bear the descent as it wasn't fun at all, except for the points when we were completely surrounded my clouds. You couldn't see anything around you and it was so cool!
2.5 hours later, we finally finished and I finally used the bathroom. I didn't want to use the toilets on the mountain for several reasons: they were pay-per-use, they were very stinky, and they were squatty potties. So I held it until we arrived back at the fifth station where real toilets awaited us. After we got back to the car, I immediately took off my shoes and socks and dumped all the rocks and sand out. Ugh! My feet were so dirty!! I brought wet wipes and used a lot to clean my feet, legs, ears, neck and face. It was nice to get rid of all that dirt.
We hopped in the car and headed down the mountain and stopped at the first McDonald's we saw. The boys ate a lot, I wasn't that hungry and I had "juicy chicken Shaka Shaka". Basically it's a chicken strip in a bag. You dump a packet of seasoning in and shake it ("Shaka Shaka"). Then you tear off the top part of the envelope and eat the chicken. It was okay... After that we got gas and headed back home, fighting sleep the whole way. We were seriously tired!
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