Hi Rob,
We missed you on the Orizaba hike in September.
My info on Fuji is old but it may give you some ideas. Hiked Fujisan in October 2005. Flew in from Thailand with my goose down long underwear and sleeping bag and gear. Took a bus from Narita airport to Shinjuku prefecture. The bus station was a block or two from the picture postcard Shinjuku rail station. This area has lots of skyscrapers that are richly adorned with neon signage. Had no hotel room pre-arranged. Discovered that some local small motels are "Japanese Only," but a nice lady at the tourist desk of the Washington Hotel arranged a room for me in a Japanese businessman hotel for about $15 for a night. Could not have gained access to that hotel without the help of the tourist desk. Next morning, walked a few blocks back to the same bus station. Caught the "Highway" bus to Kawaguchiko train station. Left my travel bag in a locker at the train station. A newly acquired friend stayed at the Kawaguchiko Inn, across the street from the bus station. Around 11:00 a.m, we took a bus to the "5th Station" on Mt. Fuji. Bus service is limited in the off-season. I believe that this was the first bus up the mountain for the day from this location. All of the buildings on the mountain were tightly shuttered. We saw one other person on the mountain above the 5th Station. We summited. It rained a lot above 9,000 ft. Visibility at the summit was about 20 feet max. On the summit, we moved cautiously forward until we felt a strong updraft of wind. We stopped and turned around at that point. We overnighted at about 9,000 ft. Stayed in a small roofed gap between a small outbuilding and a dirt bank. Caught the bus back to Kawaguchiko around lunch time the next day. Stayed on the Square in the "Gray Hotel." sp
There were no hiking regulations on the mountain at that time but many Japanese people seemed to think that it was illegal to hike Fuji outside of the official summer months. Note: Mt. Fuji has recently been declared a World Heritage Site or something like that so there are likely new rules in effect for the mountain's use. The trail was well marked and well traveled. There was no cold air aloft enroute from Thailand to Japan so it was theorized that there would be no sudden temperature drops near the summit of the mountain. Maybe that was correct. The temperature was above freezing for the hike. All logistical information pre-hike was obtained from the Internet.
Hope this helps,
Bamafireman Jesse
