Mt. Fuji

While I was in Japan last week on vacation my coworker, Jordan, and I hiked to the summit of Mt. Fuji. It was such an amazing experience! We left Tokyo around 11am and took a bus to Kawaguchi, the 5th station. It is about 2300m high and where most hikers start from. I was prepared as could be, with water and food for the next 24 hours and gear for the array of weather elements that I was sure to experience on the hike. We started up the mountain around 2pm and hiked till sunset when I needed a well deserved rest. We spend a few hours in a really expensive, packed hut where there was only room to lay flat on our back when it came time to (try to) sleep. We got up around 1am and hiked in the rain for the next 3 or so hours with our headlights guiding the way. At times the traffic of pilgrims making the ascent was so thick that we would have to stop and wait for our turn. After hiking through the rain in the dark we made to the summit shortly after 4am just in time for the break of dawn.

The view was spectacular. The sunrise breathtaking (or was that the hike which took my breath?) The experience exhausting in such a satisfying way. Unfortunately because of the rain in the morning my gloves were soaked and I couldn’t feel my fingers. The below freezing temps made it hard for me to enjoy much at the top beyond the sunrise. Jordan circumambulated the volcanic crater while I took a rest in a food hut and tried to regain feeling in my fingers and toes. Now all we had to do was get down!

The morning light was beautiful on the way down. It was hard at times to keep our footing on the steep pumiced mountain, but it went a lot faster then the way up. I can’t say that I’ve gotten sunburnt many times at 8 in the morning, but I guess when you’re 3776m high in the sky its bound to happen. Good thing around 9 I thought to put on sunscreen. About 20 hours after we started up the mountain we returned to the fifth station, exhausted and satisfied.

Click here to see more photos from my journey!