Preparing to Climb Mt. Fuji (Fuji-san)

The summit of Mt. Fuji is 12,389 ft. (3,776.24 m).

A few of us will be attempting to climb Mt. Fuji or Fuji-San at the end of August.   We will be joining the ranks of approximately 300,000 people yearly who climb the mountain.  That's a lot of people!  Most people are advised to only climb during the months of July and August when the weather on the mountain is milder than the rest of the year.


In order to sign up for a tour you have to attend a safety briefing on the climb which took all of 45 minutes.  We were given good information and now we have a better idea of what to plan for.  All I know is that we'd better get a good night's sleep before the climb because the tour leaves at 2am.  The ascend starts at station 5 around 5:30am and takes most people 6 hours.  The descend takes (2 1/2-3 hours).  That makes for a long day!


There are both day and overnight trips to Fuji-san.  We are going with a Boy Scout troop so we will be going during the daytime.  I really want to see the path in daylight versus wearing a headlamp during the night especially since the trails are very treacherous and covered with dirt and loose lava stone. It is very common for Japanese to climb in the night so that they arrive to the summit by sunrise.  This is called goreikou or spiritual light. 

Aside from being in decent physical shape, taking the climb nice and easy, having the proper (no cotton) climbing clothes, gear and 2 liters of water, I learned that it is essential to have extra yen.  This is crucial especially if you want to use the toilet... which costs 200 yen.  You'll also want extra yen if you want to purchase a hiking stick for 1,200 and have it branded at each station ~4,000 (total).  

I'll be blogging the results of the climb next month!  Wish us luck!  Gambatte!