One of the #1 things on our to do list in Japan has always been to hike Mt. Fuji. We weren't sure if it was going to happen though, because the hiking season is from July to August and Shane will be at sea every summer. When we found out you can hike in September even though it's technically "closed" - we decided to go with an open mind, plenty of warm clothes, and the option of turning back if the weather got too bad.
It was a BEAUTIFUL day and great for hiking! About 200,000 people climb Fuji-san each year and the majority of them do so during the climbing season which makes it very crowded - 2000+ people per day. On our day the hikers were probably in the 100s - as you'll see it wasn't crowded at all!
Wow was it tough though...by far the hardest hike I've ever done! The summit is at 12,388 ft so the air gets very thin. The temperature is 40 degrees or colder at the top. The wind made it feel even colder (and is the reason for the bandana - my hair was everywhere!) Oh and the terrain was pretty crazy too...stairs, and rocks, and slippery dirt oh my!
Fortunately it didn't rain and we just paced ourselves and took lots of breaks! The pictures just don't do it justice, but you can see on the left the switchbacks that we weaved alllll the way up to reach the summit. Along the path are a number of huts with food, bathrooms, lodging, and STAMPS for your hiking stick!
This guy is burning a stamp into our sticks at one of the huts. The room also happens to be a "lodging" area - for a fee you can pay to sleep on the tatami mat floor. Many people choose to start hiking in the evening, sleep for a few hours, and then hike to the summit to watch the sunrise. We weren't sure if the huts would be open though, so we chose to get up really early and hike during the day.
It took us 6 1/2 hours to climb to the summit and 2 1/2 to come down. Believe me, it was a verrry long day! Fortunately there were plenty of photo ops - great pictures AND a good excuse to take a break!!!
Oh and in case you were wondering how cold it really was....that's snow on the left and icicles on the right!!!!
Once we made it to the top it was all worth it though!!!! We might have been just a little bit happy....
That is amazing! What a great experience :-)
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