Mount Fuji Conquered

10th-12th August, 2007

Marie and I set off on the bus and headed to Mount Fuji – this time to climb to the top of the mountain. We got some of our Japanese friends to organise the tour for us and we were on our way. We were all stocked up with our hiking boots, gators, warm clothes, sugar fixes, oxygen and torches. We felt really professional!!

The tour was all in Japanese of course which made it difficult for Marie and I to understand but we somehow managed to get through the 2 day tour. We quickly made some friends (who could hardly speak any English) but they were very good and helped us work out what we were meant to be doing.

We left at 7:20pm on Friday night and arrived at the 5th Station at 7:30am. Before we got to the 5th Station we stopped at a temple so that people could pray before they climbed the mountain.

At 9:30am we ate lunch which was good as it filled us up before we had to begin the climb! We started climbing at 11:30am after we took some photos and had a Japanese pep talk (which of course we understood every word!). There were about 40 people on our tour. Before we started climbing we bought walking sticks to help us up the mountain.




Marie and I pretty much led the pack the entire way (well we were behind the tour guide). We made sure that we stuck right by his side. We were like bad smells he turned around and we were right in his face. We didn’t want to get lost or left behind.

The climb itself wasn’t so bad. We had a break every half an hour which was good so that we could rejuvinate. At each station you could buy a stamp to put on your stick. Each stamp was ¥200 which seems cheap but when you have already paid ¥1000 for the stick and there are 10 stations it can become quite pricy. The whole stick in total was between ¥4000 and ¥5000, BUT it was well worth it as it is now an awesome souvenir. I LOVE my stick! ☺


When we got to the 8th Station it was around 5pm. Here we were to eat tea and then have a 5 hour sleep before we climbed the rest of the mountain to the top. Tea was curry rice fish and meatballs. The sleeping conditions were quite funny – everyone was all lined up next to each other in a blue sleeping bag. Forget showers and nice toilets. There is very limited water on Mount Fuji so even to go to the toilet was an obstacle. Thank goodness I didn’t have to go too much (I think I got away with one time!).


At 10:30pm we had to be ready to climb the rest of the way up. It was quite cold at this stage so Marie and I put on our thermal pants, thermal tops, jumpers, jackets, beanies and rain pants just incase it started raining. We were all set ready to go. At this stage it was dark so our torches came in handy. It was a lot harder climbing the mountain in the freezing cold night. It was absolutely freezing – you can’t imagine how cold it actually was. Marie and I were huddled together with my hand in Marie’s pocket pretty much the rest of the way up. There were so many people climbing the mountain which meant it was very slow going. This was a little annoying as we actually had to stop and wait until people started moving which meant that we were even more freezing as we weren’t moving.

At about 4:15am the sun started coming up. The idea was to be at the top of the mountain for the sunrise. We were a little worried that we weren’t going to make it but we managed to hike our way up the mountain to see the most amazing sunrise that I have ever experienced. It was just stunning. It was about 5am when we reached the top! By the time we got to the top it wasn’t as cold and so we were able to enjoy it. We got our last stamp which in Japanese says “top of the mountain”. This was one of my favourite stamps!! “Yata” – we made it!! We were so happy to make it to the top. It was definitely worth all the hard work and effort to see the sunrise. When the sun rose two Japanese men raised the Japanese flag while singing a song. It was good to be able to see this. We had a look around the crater at the top of the mountain before it was time to head back down again.




Going down was easier than going up but it was still hard work. The ground was very slippery and dusty. I had a few “sixers” on the way down but nothing too major. We started our hike down at about 6:30am and we finally made it down at 10:30am. It was great to be back down and to actually be able to say that we conquered Mount Fuji. It was a great feeling and we have our sticks to prove it!!


Marie and I had black faces from all the dust on the way down. It was disgusting and I felt so dirty. We were stopping at an Onsen – one of those public baths on the way home. I wasn’t particularly keen on going to an Onsen but as I was so dirty and disgusting I kind of had no choice. It was quite hard to get the dirt off and a good scrub was definitely required – that’s all I needed while I was at the Onsen. I couldn’t wait to be done and dressed. After our Onsen we ate lunch. It was just what we needed after a hard climb.


When lunch was over we headed back on the bus for the long ride back to Himeji.

We didn’t get in until 12:40am. It was such a long 2 days but it was well worth every minute. I had a great time and I feel like I accomplished something HUGE!!