Ascent to Fuji

Climbing to the summit is allowed only in summer, July, August and mid September, at other seasons it is too dangerous. We completed on a night in August with my Japanese friends, a colleague Hisako-san and our guide Kitazawa-san. When Kitazawa-san said that the ascent would be at night, I was shocked. I’ve read that the Japanese love to watch the sunrise at the top of Fuji mount, that it is something sacred for them, but somehow it didn’t really inspire me.

The explanation was very simple: around 9 o'clock in the morning clouds start to rise from below and after 10am the ascent is reminiscent of the Russian cartoon "Hedgehog in the mist": there are no beautiful views from above and a path is invisible.

In total there are 10 levels on the way to the top, but most of trackers start the ascent from the 5th level, where you can park your car. At each level, you can buy water, snacks, hot soup, but prices increase significantly with increasing height.

It was + 24С at the 5th level, while only + 5С at the top. Warm clothing is required, as well as mountain boots. First I planned to walk in trainers, but I didn’t regret that I bought walking boots for this climb. Even with themI sometimes slipped on volcanic tuff and pebbles.

The higher you climb, the narrower the path and the more people on it. Soon my forehead touched somebody’s back in front, and someone's forehead touched my back.So many languages I heard there!Tourists from all over the globe make their ascent together, like a large international conference on climbing uphill.

Hisako-san lagged behind us and we lost her, but my guide urged me: “Veronika-san, the group of tourists ahead, they are walking very slowly, we must overtake them!” After 5 minutes, another group, and again we overtook, and then another and another. Soon I really got sick, I felt fizzy so sat on a rock and decided that I would not go any further. Our guide, though was in his 60’s, he used to run marathons on Fuji and other mountains. After 20 minutes, I felt better and decided to go on, but not to overtake anyone else.

We were climbing only about 4 hours. When we finally reached the top, I was so tired and frozen that my only desire was to buy hot soup at a crazy price and sit quietly in a wooden shed that serves as a shop. I curled up on a wooden seat and almost fell asleep. My Japanese friends woke me up: "Veronika-san, it's time to see the dawn!"

When the sun rose, it became warmer, sleep and fatigue have gone.

We went to look around.

There is a deep crater on the top.

Views from the top are awesome, you feel like a resident of heaven.

It was well worth the climb ...

The way down was much longer than the ascent, around 6 hours.

My new boots rubbed my legs, my knees hurt, my legs refused to go. The clouds rose and we were literally like hedgehogs in the fog.

In principle, you can facilitate the trip, spending the night in one of the hostels right on the mountain or even in your own tent and starting very early in the morning, to reach the summit about the time of sunrise.