EDIT: To read about my climbing experience and for details on the Fujinomiya trail please check out my most current post here.I currently live in Shizuoka Prefecture, which is the “Home of Mt Fuji” (although part of Fuji also lives in Yamanashi Prefecture too!). Since it’s nearby, I decided I had no excuse not to climb Fuji before I leave this summer.
Getting There
Firstly,
there are English language tours for around 20,000yen departing regularly from
Tokyo, so if you are a tourist I would probably recommend booking one of those for
a totally hassle free climb. However, it’s not difficult to do it yourself, as
there are daily buses to/from Tokyo all through the climbing season (check out
Willer for bus information)
You can
also reach the mountain by getting a Shinkansen to Shin-Fuji station, and from
there a 2 hour bus.
When to climb
Fuji is
only open from around mid July to early September. This short climbing period
means it’s always busy. Weekends and basically most of August (from around 10th
to 20th maybe) are particularly crowded, and it’s possible to wait
in line to get to the summit, especially at sunrise when lines can become quite
long. I’ll be climbing on a Sunday-Monday because of work restrictions, but
ideally I’d have liked to climb mid-week.
Night
Hiking or Sleeping Over?
l Many people choose to hike through the night and reach the summit at
sunrise. This is officially not recommended as it can cause more accidents
since people are tired and sleepy, and also climbing quickly increases the likelihood
of altitude sickness. Despite this, thousands climb at night every year and experience
absolutely no problems, and it is a cheaper, easier and faster alternative to
sleeping over.
l I will be sleeping over, mostly because I am worried about altitude
sickness and the detrimental effects on my poor fitness level. You need to
reserve your space in the hut well in advance of your climb, especially at
weekends and the middle of August. Unfortunately many huts still only take
phone reservations, and only some speak English. This website lists
all the huts on the Fujinomiya route, including information like prices and
availability, as usual it’s just in Japanese but is very easy to Google translate.
You can also find more basic information on all the routes on the JNTO website.
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| My mountain hut in 2016 |
The huts are in no way glamorous – you will be in a big room in a sleeping bag with 250 people on either side of you. There doesn’t appear to be much personal space and I’m a little concerned about the smell after everyone hiking all day – but I’m sure it’s all an experience!
I booked the 8th station (Ikeda Kan) on the Fujinomiya route online via their website – it was in Japanese but I translated it and their confirmation email was in English, presumably because they saw my foreign name. This also leads me to believe that even huts that officially have no English are probably so used to foreigners that they can communicate at least a little.
Fitness Level
Everyone
hears stories about children and little old ladies climbing Fuji every year.
However, there’s a reason why the Japanese live so long – they are very active
into old age, and these little old ladies are probably out doing calisthenics
at 6am in the local park every day so it would be foolish to underestimate
their fitness level and compare them to the average old ladies in your country.
Now,
from what I hear Fuji is not a difficult climb – you don’t need specialist
climbing equipment or a Sherpa to help guide you. However, it’s still a
mountain and should be treated as such. Taking your time, sleeping over and
carrying the appropriate clothing and supplies will make it much easier.
Route
There
are five routes total, but to be realistic and save time I’ll only tell you
about the two popular routes.
l Fuji no miya – This is the route I will be climbing (just because it’s
nearest my house), and is accessed by Shin-Fuji station. It is the shortest
climb to the summit, but it is steeper than Yoshida. My friends said that it
took them about 8 hours climbing all night, taking long breaks too. The
estimate is about 4-7 hours to climb up and half that to descend.
Equipment and Gear
You need
to be prepared for cold weather; although it may be 30 degrees Celsius outside, by the time the bus drops you to the 5th station it's quite high up and already you'll feel a slight chill. If climbing at night be prepared for it to be especially cold. The weather
is also said to be very changeable so raingear and a change of clothes is also advisable.
l Renting: I found Kobe Outdoor (mtfujirental .com) was very useful –
their website is modern, fully in English and they deliver to hotels/AirBnBs
from 3 days before your climbing date so you have time to change sizes etc, and
you can return them within 24 hours of climbing at a convenience store. I have
ordered hiking boots from them, so I will update and let you know if they are
as good as they seem! (EDIT; They are! Even delivered a day earlier. Great service).
l Walking Stick – This costs about 1,000 yen and is
available at all the stations. You can get it stamped for 200yen at each station on the way up and is a popular souvenir (although
awkward to fit in a suitcase coming home perhaps…)
Here's a few other things you should definitely take with you;
Here's a few other things you should definitely take with you;
l Hiking boots + thick socks
l Oxygen cans (available at the base stations but very expensive so buy in advance)
l Sunscreen
l Sunglasses + hat
l Rain coat and pants
l Thick coat
l Thermal top + leggings
l Hat + gloves
l Headlamp (night hiking)
l Eye mask + Ear plugs (if sleeping over)
l As much water as you can carry - prices get to 500yen for 500ml from the 7th station...
l As much water as you can carry - prices get to 500yen for 500ml from the 7th station...
Last summer I met a guy with incredible
sunburn – turns out he was recently climbing Fuji at night and was so busy
preparing his gloves and coat that he forgot that he would be climbing down the mountain in daytime in the height
of Japanese summer….needless to say I learned from his mistake and sunscreen
and a hat are top of my list!
More Useful Links
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| The famous sunrise - actually seen from the 8th station |
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