Sushi, Nintendo, Toyota, anime, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, sumo wrestling and cherry blossoms.
I’ll be honest, when I found out we were moving to Japan, that was about the extent of my knowledge of the country I’d soon call home. Predictable and quite limited.
I HAD heard of Mount Fuji though. And summiting the famous mountain quickly found a spot on my bucket list.
Yes, you read that correctly.
People who know me, know that camping and hiking aren’t really my thing. We’ll get to that shortly.
Mt. Fuji or Fujisan as we now refer to her, is an active volcano — and with an elevation of 12,388 feet, Japan’s tallest mountain. She is a beautiful, important symbol of this country and the subject of countless pieces of artwork, songs and souvenirs.
I love flights when we’re able to catch a glimpse (and pic) of her from the sky.
And on clear days, we’re lucky enough to see her (from a distance) from multiple spots 
on NAF Atsugi where we live. It’s funny, on those days… as I run errands or head out on an adventure, people will stop to say ‘did you catch Fujisan today?’ or ‘doesn’t Fuji look gorgeous this morning?’ On the days she isn’t hiding in the haze, people seem to have a bit more of a spring in their steps. There’s no question the mountain is majestic and impressive.
Back to that bucket list… the window to hike Mt. Fuji each year is short. Climbing season is limited to about 2 months, usually the start of July through about the first week in September. The trails are not open the remainder of the year due to safety concerns stemming from bad weather and poor visibility. Often times Fujisan is still snowcapped in June! Chris had a month-long break from deployment so we picked a day in August to check Fuji off of our list!
Preparation:
Since hiking isn’t really my thing, I had grand plans to prepare and train for our adventure. There are several smaller mountains with shorter hikes nearby. I figured I’d check out a few. It didn’t happen. My backup plan was to spend some quality time on the StairMaster. Eeeek. That didn’t happen either. What can I say?! The summer got away from me! I did walk and run a fair share so I wasn’t completely out of shape…. but admittedly, I was pretty nervous about how I’d do on our trek.
As for gear — I invested in hiking shoes
Hiking Day:
4:00 a.m. Hit the road for the drive to Fujisan
6ish a.m. Arrival at the Fuji Subaru Line 5th station (a tourist destination even if you don’t plan on hiking with restaurants, shops and beautiful views). Here, we spent about 45 minutes acclimating to the change in altitude. During that time we purchased a hiking stick (you can have stamps burned into the stick on the way up and it makes for a great reminder of your adventure!) and mailed postcards from Fuji’s post office. Here, shops also sell hiking gear, water, snacks and canned oxygen (for altitude sickness) in case you’ve forgotten anything. You can purchase all of those things in huts on the mountain, but the higher you climb, the higher the price!
7:00 a.m. The trek begins. There are four trails leading to the summit of Mt. Fuji. We made the climb on the Yoshida Trail, which is also the most popular thanks to its close proximity to public transportation and the fact that there are two first aid stations (comforting!) and several huts for supplies along the way. The trail is made up of several switchbacks as you make your way up. After every few zigs and zags we stopped for about 30 seconds to take a quick sip of water and catch our breath. We really only took one real break — a five-minute stop where we actually sat down and ate a granola bar. We were also lucky not to experience altitude sickness.
The views were nice to start, but visibility decreased as we got higher and made our way into the clouds. We experienced a bit of rain and toward the top and the temperature dropped quickly. I was thankful for gloves and extra layers. The hike proved challenging and there were several spots where scrambling (hiking terminology for using your hands along with your feet when climbing) was necessary, but I never felt defeated. The longer we hiked, the more confident I became.
11:15 a.m. SUCCESS!
We summited in 4 hours and 15 minutes. It was cold, windy and unfortunately we didn’t experience the stunning views we’d heard about and seen pictures of. We were socked in by the clouds. Still, Fujisan’s summit is spectacular. We spent about half an hour at the top for some rest and sustenance (ramen & beer!).
I remember feeling this fantastic sense of accomplishment! A reason to celebrate! And then you remember — you’re at nearly 13,000 feet — and you have to get down. I asked my husband (a helicopter pilot) if he could call in a favor and get us a ride down… no such luck.
11:45 a.m. The descent. I found the way down to be just as challenging as the climb. The loose gravel on the trail made it easy to slip as you gained speed, and it was tough on the knees and ankles. We clipped along, and 2 and a half hours later we were back at the Fuji Subaru Line 5th Station.
2:15 p.m. Climbing Mt. Fuji — officially checked off the bucket list. If you’d like to add it to yours, don’t miss this website, for everything you need to know.
There’s a saying here in Japan: “He who climbs Mt. Fuji is a wise man; he who climbs twice is a fool.”
I’m not saying Fujisan made a ‘hiker’ out of me, but I wouldn’t rule out a second climb in the future. Maybe that makes me a fool — a fool who loves adventure… and a fool who loves her husband (an avid hiker).
