Mt Whitney Zone Forums Trip Reports Mount Fuji

Having seen pictures of Japan’s Mount Fuji, it was a peak I had always wanted to climb. Well I finally got the chance when I was in the country last week. Fuji at 12385’ is the highest Peak in Japan, it’s located about 60 miles from Tokyo and it took me two trains, one taxi and one bus ride to arrive at Fuji’s 5th Station Trailhead at 9.45am ready to start the trek uphill. There are about four different trails that lead to the summit, I chose the “Yoshida” trail starting out at 7360’ and climbing 5000’ in approx 4.2 miles to reach the summit. The trail which is clearly defined starts out fairly level on a wide kind of dirt road, winding through the forest, but soon starts to gain elevation as it leaves the trees and vegetation behind and ascends through barren and rocky volcanic terrain. From here on the trail has a rope cordon on each side (I guess they don’t want people wandering off ). It should be remembered that hundreds of people, even thousands in the high season climb this mountain every day, to many it is regarded as a spiritual endeavor, and they are often inexperienced hikers. Many of the hikers take two days to summit and spend the night in huts/lodges that are dotted all along the trail.
I reached the summit at 1.45 pm after chatting and exchanging greetings with endless groups of friendly people all wanting to practice their English language skills on me. The summit was covered in dense clouds as had been most of the journey up, there were no views visible not even the crater and I was standing on the edge of its rim, so with the weather getting colder and after getting a few pictures of the summit monument and Lodge I headed back down to reach the Trailhead at 4.30pm.
I think most of the hikers on this board would find Fuji to be a fairly easy hike, in many ways it is similar to Baldy via the Ski Hut, just higher elevations and a little steeper. Route finding was simple despite being in clouds/fog most of the time. All in all my impression is that Fuji is more about the bond and camaraderie that hikers share than anything else, my lasting memory of the mountain will be the friendliness and laughs I shared with people on the journey which far exceeded my expectations.
Definitely a hike worth doing.

Cheers Phil

On top of Japan






Pics : Mount Fuji, 9/10/2013

Omedeto gozaimasu!

My wife and I "hiked" to the summit in July 2009...our first.

Up Kawaguchiko...

Down Subashiri...

Judging from your picture, we had the same condtions...Rain, cloudy, then cleared and then clouded up at the summit.

It was the 7th station where we noticed people bending and stretching and my wife and I thought this is just a day hike and they taking this all too seriously...

Well, when we turned the corner we saw the reason for all of that stretching...Had to put in 4WD...

The only thing missing at the summit was a Starbucks and McD...Heck, they had everything else up there!

We were the first in our family to do it all in one day...I am half Japanese...

My Japanese family makes it an annual pilgrimage over the course of 4 days.

We didn't get the 6th station brand because the proprietor was passed out by his fire and was NOT getting up....Poor guy...

Yes, the people we encountered were the most friendly...

Overall, we had fun and would do it again.

Phil, thanks for posting the report and the pictures! You're lucky to just be in Japan, for the opportunity. I'll definitely try to do that hike if I am ever in Japan (which is not likely to happen).

Your description reminds me a little of hiking Mt Lassen in northern Calif. It is also a volcano, but certainly even easier than Mt. Fuji. I hiked Mt Lassen in 4 hours (round trip!). But it definitely gives you the flavor if hiking a volcano.

...so when IS the "high season" for Mt. Fuji?

Hi +@ti2d,

Yes, it seems the weather varies greatly from day to day on Fuji and clouds are quite common.

Steve, The high season is short, from July to the end of August, after that there are less buses/facilities available. I have even heard that in mid winter you may have to sign some kind of a disclaimer if you want to enter the area, but I did'nt meet anyone who had actually done that.

PS. Thanks for correcting my photo link.

Phil, pretty cool! Congrats for climbing Fujisan!

Do you have any more information about climbing Fuji outside of the customary summer season, regulations if any and whether there is any transportation there in Nov-June?

Those avalanche protectors are interesting...

What did you use to study any guide books on the route and logistics beforehand? Seemed you went by yourself?

Must have been a great experience.

Rob

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