Japan: Mount Fuji
*** 2007/08/24
Jet lagged, I awoke in my hotel room at 4 AM. I took one taxi, and
two busses on my way to to Kawaguchi 5th Station (the most popular of
the Mount Fuji trail heads).
The trailhead was a crazy place with shops, vending machines, hundreds
of people, and a steady stream of busses. I followed a line of
purposeful-looking hikers to a 20-foot wide dirt path, if it hadn't
been for all the people with backpacks and hiking sticks I would have
assumed it was a road instead of a hiking trail.
I hiked up through a steady stream of people, mostly Japanese, a lot
of young people, and a sprinkling of foreigners. Soon I could see the
huts of the 7th stage above me, a series of small huts lining the
steep switchbacking trail, the upper huts fading into the fog. Until
now the trail was wide, level, and full of ankle-rolling rocks. But
shortly before the 7th stage the trail narrowed and became more steep
and rocky, often it was convenient to use hands while ascending this
section. Here traffic slowed considerably.
Sometimes the trail ascended stairs, at one of these places an old
woman stumbled and fell backwards into my arms. After this she
gathered her strength and motored up the rest of the stairs, which was
an amazing recovery for a 60 year at 9,000 feet elevation who has a
long hike behind her.
Eventually I was above me an 8th station hut flying the American flag.
This was Hotel Fuji, the hut I had reservations at. It was exactly
what I had hoped for. They greeted me with a hot cup of green tea and
showed me my bed upstairs (socks only here). The beds were blankets
and one long mattress with numbers on the wall to differentiate the
"beds", since the hut wasn't too full I got #16 and #17. Men and women
shared the same room, a girl from LA was bunked next to me.
I took a nap until dinner. Everyone at dinner was Japanese. Half an
hour later I was asleep again. Wake up call was at 1 AM for those of
us who wanted to reach the summit before sunrise. With a schedule
like this, jet lag worked in my favor.
*** 2007/08/25
At 1:25 AM I joined a constant stream of people hiking upwards bearing
headlamps, glow sticks, flashlights, and Fuji guides with flashing
light sticks. People lined the side of the trail taking a break, some
sprawled out on the ground sleeping.
After an hour of hiking I reached the hut at the east side of the
summit, it was swarming with people. I hiked through the crowd and
found a quiet spot further north. I sat in the cold watching
lightening in the clouds below and shooting stars above for a couple
hours before the horizon started brightening. By this time I had on
five layers for my torso, three hats, two layers on my legs, and cold
feet (later in the morning I noticed icicles and icy puddles). As the
morning light increased people started swirling around my previously
quiet spot taking pictures and hanging bells on a shrine gate. When
the sun rose over the horizon a cry went up and a group of people near
the hut started doing a cheer and raising their hands in a way similar
to the wave. I had as much fun watching the people as the sunrise.
After sunrise I walked the loop around the crater, stopping to eat
breakfast on the true summit before heading down the descent trail.
The descent route was uniformly wide, mostly well-graded, and the
footing was a mixture of ankle-rollers and soft, loose dirt. There
were signs in English and Japanese pointing the way. Soon I was back
in the crowds at the trailhead, five hours before my bus was supposed
to arrive.
While I waited for my bus a mohawked photographer and his assistant
approached me and asked if they could take my picture for Lightening
Magazine. After getting some info about me, they took two pictures of
me and one picture of my left shoe.
Now, one bus, two trains, and one shower later, I am happy to be in my
hotel room and about to go to sleep.
*** Transportation
I took a taxi from Narita to Narita Terminal 2, that was 3,300 yen,
the same ride on the train is 250 yen. At the airport I bought
tickets for an Airport Limousine Bus to Shinjiku Station. At Shinjiku
Station I went to the Odakyu Sightseeing Center and picked up the
round-trip bus tickets I had reserved over the phone. The bus from
Shinjiku Station took me to Fujisan gogomen.
On my return I arrived at Fujisan 5th Station five hours before my
reserved bus, the first two busses of the day were sold out, but I was
able to get switched onto a bus that left an hour earlier than my
reservation. That bus took me back to Shinjiku Station. At Shinjiku
Station I caught the Narita Express JR train to Narita Terminal One.
From Terminal One I took a Kisei Limited Express train to Narita
Station.
Date:
2007/08/24
to 2007/08/25
Elevation gain:
4,545 feet
Car-to-car:
19 hours 37 minutes
-
2 hours 39 minutes
ascending
from
Kawaguchi 5th stage
to
Mount Fuji Hotel (8th stage)
-
1 hour 9 minutes
ascending
from
Mount Fuji Hotel (8th stage)
to
East side of the rim of Mount Fuji
-
1 hour 49 minutes
descending
from
East side of the rim of Mount Fuji
to
Kawaguchi 5th stage
The start of Mount Fuji's Kawaguchi trail
Ascending the Kawaguchi trail
Bunks in the Mount Fuji Hotel (8th stage on Kawaguchi route)
Bunk room in the Mount Fuji Hotel (8th stage on Kawaguchi route)
Looking down on the 9th Station on Mount Fuji
Mount Fuji from Sunrise from Mount Fuji
Sunrise from Mount Fuji
Shrine gate on Mount Fuji
Sunrise from Mount Fuji
Hundreds of people on the summit of Mount Fuji. Note how some people are taking pictures of the sunrise with their cell phones.
A prayer gate on the summit of Mount Fuji
Looking down on the 9th Station on Mount Fuji
A shrine gate on Mount Fuji
Summit of Mount Fuji
Descending on the Kawaguchi trail
Kawaguchi 5th Station (Mount Fuji trailhead)
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