This past week, my roommate Kevin and I hiked Mt Fuji (all credit to him for the photos). Getting there and to the top was a bit confusing, and the information currently available online for how to do the trip is fairly inadequate. As a result, we had no idea what we were doing or what we were in for - but we lucked out! So I’d like to share our experience to give you a better idea what to expect and how to prepare if you want to climb Fuji yourself.

First of all, just about all the information I’ve gathered points to this advice: climbing Fuji during the regular season kinda sucks. Even as late in the season as September, the mountain is still full of people, and it’s like a giant queue to the top. So even though it might have been a bit colder and windier, I think we made the right decision to climb in early October.

We flew into Osaka where we stayed with some friends, and on Wednesday afternoon we took the REALLY AWESOME bullet train from Osaka to Tokyo (this cost us a bit over 100 USD/person). From the Tokyo station, we took the metro to the main bus station in Shinjuku, where we proceeded to request: “Two tickets to Mt Fuji 5th Station please!” which was returned only with the all-too-universal look: “Are you guys fucking nuts?”

So there we were in the middle of Tokyo at 7 PM and there was no bus to the Mt Fuji 5th Station. Apparently during the off-season, these buses run less regularly - only on weekends and holidays. We evaluated our options. There was a 7:10 bus to the very base of Mt Fuji, but from there it’s another hour drive to the 5th station, where most people start hiking, and there was no guarantee we’d be able to find a taxi from there that would take us up to the 5th station (not to mention, an hour long taxi in Japan will easily cost up to 300 USD). We’d come this far, so figured, “fuck it, let’s get on this bus.”

The bus only cost somewhere around 10-20 USD/person but the whole 2 or so hours there we wondered what the heck we were gonna do after de-busing. We were hatching schemes of charming some unsuspecting local into giving us a ride to the trailhead when I noticed an interesting caveat on the meager tour brochure we head with us: “The Yoshida-guchi trail starts from the Sengen Shrine, a couple kilometers from the Mt Fuji bus station, and continues all the way to the summit of Mt Fuji.”

DING DING DING! Much easier to convince someone to drive us a few minutes from the bus stop than an hour to the 5th station. And lo and behold, as soon as we stepped off the bus, a nice old Japanese lady started chatting with us. Her niece with her spoke good English and of course, as soon as we finished saying where we were from, we jumped at the opportunity to ask for a ride. She was more than happy to oblige, and more. At the Sengen Shrine, she handed us coins and instructed us as to how to make a wish, Japanese-style. Bow twice, clap twice, bow once more, and then toss your coin into the repository in front of the tree. I wished that we would get to the summit in time for sunrise. We admired the beautiful, giant old trees and enjoyed a few reminiscences of Totoro.

After waving good-bye to our Japanese guardian angels, we set out on the trail. Starting from the very beginning of the Yoshida-guchi trail adds quite a bit of distance and time to your hike - about 10 kilometers or 3-4 hours. Luckily you don’t gain much elevation during this part, so you can take it pretty quickly. We started hiking the Yoshida-guchi trail at 9:30 PM at night and used headlamps, so we couldn’t see much, but if we had been able to, we would have admired the forest preserve we passed through.

Now, here’s another misnomer - all the numbered “stations” up the mountain are kind of bullshit. Yes, generally, the easiest way is to begin and end at the MAIN Fuji 5th Station called Kawaguchiko or Fuji-Subaru (there are 3 5th stations, by the way). And in the off-season, that’s the only accessible side of the mountain (so after September, forget about the Gotemba, Subashiri, or Fujinomiya trails). The stations on every trail are numbered (although not in English, luckily my Chinese came in handy there), but even if you can read the numbers, they don’t mean much. There are so many different stations and first-aid stops – originally I was trying to gauge our elevation by which station we were at, but it became meaningless. There are a bunch that are unmapped (and they seem to be building a lot more). Furthermore, in the off season, all stations besides the 5th is closed, and even during the season, the stations are ridiculously over-priced for very meager accommodations (I believe it’s a base of 50 USD/night for a wooden bunk). It’s also a very challenging hike, so we didn’t want to bring camping gear (it’s almost definitely against the rules to camp out along the hike up Fuji anyway - although that wouldn’t necessarily stop you - carrying all the gear you’d need to camp out over night is what would). Ultimately, the inconvenience of closed stations and a lack of proper overnight camping gear is what motivated us to just hike through the night – but it wasn’t easy.

Ultimately we didn’t summit in time for sunrise. A few minutes before 6 AM, the sun broke over the horizon and we were still a good hour away from the summit. It was beautiful, nonetheless, but man was I bummed and tired. The Yoshida trail is especially steep – the summit is at 12,388 ft, while the trailhead is at 9,800 ft. The total distance is about 12 miles, but a good half of that is very gradual as you gallivant happily through the forest preserve with no idea of what you’re about to get yourself into. By that sunrise, with an hour still to the top, we were hurting. Good portions of the trail up traverse across the mountain over soft rock volcanic soil – easy, steep and mindless. Then, you get to portions that are technically much harder – parts you’re very nearly bouldering – but at least it’s more fun because you have to figure out where to place your hands and feet. It occupies the mind at 4 AM when you’re exhausted and can’t make out how much trail is left to the summit.

The bottom line is, it is harder than you think it will be. I’m pretty experienced, and I’ve been on some pretty hard, long hikes – but Mt Fuji takes the cake. From the bottom of the Yoshidaguchi trail to the summit, we hiked from 9:30 PM to after 7 AM, at a pretty good pace with only a handful of stops to drink, eat and rest. If you’re gonna take the same route and method we did (hiking through the night from the Sengen Shrine), make sure you’re in good shape. We’re two young people – Kevin plays football, I’m in the gym every day – who got our asses kicked by Fuji.

This guy seems to have taken a much saner, reasonably paced hike along the same route as we did – perhaps his blog can be more helpful if you are not as crazy we were (Kevin at about 10 AM: “I am NEVER going on another hike with you!”).

The top was incredible, as you can see from the photos. Words can’t really describe. Whether you’re hiking during the season or off-season, absolutely CHECK THE WEATHER FORECAST FOR THE TOP! Kevin and I booked our train tickets according to the forecast and we lucked out – beautiful, sunny views from the top and minimal winds (by October standards, which still means, “really fucking windy”). Seriously, Fuji’s summit doesn’t mess around with the wind - I can see how that could be pretty damn dangerous. It’s also freezing, so make sure you bring plenty of layers. I had spandex plus fleece pants, as well as underarmor, a sweatshirt, a fleece, hat and gloves. It’s also common to have snow at the top in October, so I had brought water-proof gloves in case.

Although we were exhausted at the top, there is plenty to see and explore. Peek into the crater, walk around it, collect some cool volcanic rocks for way-better-than-key-chain souvenirs, and take lots of pictures, of course. We met a group of Japanese hikers who gave us some bottle rockets to light off.

After a brief respite, we began our long journey down. At this point, nearly 9 AM, I was hallucinating from the fatigue I felt. Luckily, you don’t have to walk down the same way you came up, which would be nearly impossible considering the volcanic rock. It’s confusing, because both trails go by the same name, but there is an “up” trail as well as a “down” trail, and the down trail is more of the soft, volcanic soil that traverses all the way down – at parts you can very nearly skate down (just don’t cause a rock slide!). That doesn’t necessarily mean the way down is “easy” (it’s not when you’ve just hiked 12 miles through the night). The repetitiveness, and if you get the fog rolling in like we did, means you have 3-4 hours of monotony awaiting you as you make your way down the mountain. To find the “down” Yoshida trail, from the “up” trail, walk straight past the shelters and bear slightly left where the trail seems to start heading downwards - in the off season you’ll probably have to step over a small barrier.

IMPORTANT: Just like there are tons of unmapped stations on Fuji, so are there tons of unmapped trails. Make sure you know how to get back to the 5th station. There are signs here and there, but when in doubt, find another human and ask where the 5th station is. You don’t want to have to hike all the way back to Sengen Shrine. Kevin and I lost the Yoshida “down” trail once or twice since we had to bypass some trail work/construction, but when we began to feel lost, we asked one of the construction workers which way to the 5th station.

Happily, we reached the 5th station by about 12:30 PM. The Kawaguchiko 5th station is almost like a mall – bustling with a few shops and restaurants and full of tourists. We had what was arguably the most delicious ramen of our lives, then jumped on a bus back to Kawaguchiko, where we took another bus and bullet train back to Osaka. It’s a miracle we woke up for any of our stops on the long journey back to Osaka. Most miraculous of all, though, was how heavenly my first shower back in Osaka was, how delicious our dinner and beers were – nectar of the gods! – and how billowy soft and comfortable our bed in Osaka was that night.

Fuji was incredible, and for all the effort and exhaustion, it was still worth it. In fact, the effort and exhaustion plus the breath-taking views were exactly what made it so worth it. It truly is a once in a life time experience and I feel very grateful to be able to proudly add it to my bucket list.

All in all, Japan was an amazing experience. I can’t wait to go back some day!