It has been over a month since I've returned from my trip to Japan and Korea. Things have been just so busy that I hadn't had time to share. The trip was a three week vacation that I embarked on solo. It being the first time that I was doing so, I was frightened and didn't know what to expect. Had I prepared enough? would the language barrier be an issue? Is it safe for me to travel by myself? All these questions and more ran through my head. Especially because the highlight of my trip would be my desired Mt. Fuji climb. I really wanted to climb to the top of Mout Fuji and watch the sunrise. Crazy I know, but as they say in Japan, "He who climbs Mount Fuji once is a wise man, he who climbs it twice is a fool."
The official climbing season for Mount Fuji is July and August but because I wouldn't be around. I pushed my climb to the latest date possible, June 29/30th. I had brought along my winter jacket and headlamp pre-trip. Everything else I planned on buying at the fifth station. The few days leading up to the climb was nerve-wrecking. Weather forecast for Mount Fuji for the chosen day was considered poor for climbing, especially for a night climb. At such high altitudes, weather was a key factor to the climb. But because my accommodations had been set already, I had to go and figure things out from there. I caught a morning bus in Shinjuku that took me right up to the Yoshida 5th Station.
I arrived around noon and went straight to the information center to get as much information as I could regarding the climb. The man there recommended against doing the climb.
There were so many things that could go wrong, such as the weather, the key component. It wasn't looking good. He also said even if I made it to the top, the likelihood of seeing the sunrise was small because of weather conditions. He recommended that if I absolutely had to do it, to book a stay in one of the huts on the way up. But for staying just a couple of hours, it would cost 80,00 yen.
In the end I decided I was going to try and if weather didn't cooperate, I could always turn around. As luck would have it, another lady came into the center asking about the climb as well. We ended up talking and it turns out that she and her boyfriend, who were both intending on doing the night climb, were also Canadians! What luck that the only Canadians I would meet on the trip would be when I needed it most. We decided to do the climb together as on a climb like this the more the merrier.
After we bought a bunch of food and supplies for the climb we prepared to set off. We ended up running into a European who was also planning on doing the climb. He had a lot of experience under his belt and agreed to climb with us. It was a good thing he did because he ended up being a lifesaver.
We set off around 6 pm, even though it would still be 10 hours before sunrise. The climb would only take about 5-7 hours. As we started our climb, we could see a mixture of clouds/fog. As we made our way up, we encountered many that were coming down. They shared their experience with us and gave their encouragements. as we made our way past the sixth station and towards the first of many huts along the trail, the sun started to set. We stopped at the first hut that would sell us hot water for our instant noodles. As luck would have it, it starts to rain as we waited, so we took shelter inside the hut. We ended up waiting out there until 9:30 pm when they were closing for the night. By then, the rain had subsided and we could see the night sky. With seven hours still to go, we made our way up, taking small breaks at each of the huts we came along. Once we were above the clouds, we got to see the most amazing of views. The sky was filled with stars as far as the eyes can see. Because we were so high up, there were no light pollution to ruin the view. You could see the milky way and the occasional shooting stars. We sat in awe just taking it all in. You rarely get to see such a spectacular view. As we moved up higher and higher, the wind picked up, but we managed to stay above the clouds and any possible rain. If it wasn't for the European with us who had brought extra jackets that were windproof, I doubt I would have made it. But not only did he lend me his jacket, he was a great motivator. As we reached the ninth station, we found a few huts that allowed us to take shelter as long as we purchased some merchandise/food from them. The Japanese at the huts didn't give us the best impression of Japanese people though, although the language barrier would be the huge factor. They were very strict on time spent in their space and wouldn't allow us to do things the would seemingly be OK here in Canada. The final hut we stayed at, just below the ninth station, we stayed til an hour before sunrise. Climbing up to the summit, we could see the daylight breaking through the darkness.
We were the first people of the day to reach the summit, and we made it with moments to spare. The clouds were low and we caught our sunrise that simply took our breathes away.
The wind at the summit was so strong could literally blow you away. But other than that, we were very fortunate. We trekked around the crater which was still half covered with snow and ice. We wanted to get to the highest peak of the summit but because of the snow and the route we took, it made it difficult for us to reach.
We started our descent at around 7:30. It proved to be a lot more difficult and painful on the legs. Climbing down in the daytime felt endless compared to the climb up. Going up it was dark so we couldn't really see how much more we had to climb, but on the way down, you see an endless path that makes you think how you made it up. I went on and on wondering to myself when it would end or when I could finally see the 5th station. We finally made it after 3 hours.
On our bus ride off the mountain to kawaguchiko, even though we were all hungry and sore out of our minds, everyone was so exhausted we all fell asleep. Once we got to the train station we had a quick lunch before we parted ways. The climb up and down and all the breaks in between took a total of 16 hours. It was the longest 16 hours I ever went through but one that I won't forget for a long time.
