Mt. Fuji

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Quite possibly one of the hardest and most physically demanding activities I have done. A bunch of the exchange students (10 of us total) took a 7 hour bus ride over to Mt. Fuji the day after school ended. Our goal: to get to the top of the mountain!! We started the day off early, having to get to the bus station by 7 in the morning, which meant getting up at 5 to make it on time. From Osaka, we took a long bus ride towards Tokyo and finally arrived at Mt Fuji at around 5 at night. We grabbed a quick dinner and then started on our long trek. The weather, despite it being hot and humid in Osaka, was pretty cool here. We took the bus about halfway up the mountain and started on stop number 5. There are 9 stops total and after that is the summit. Already we were above the clouds at stop 5 and things were starting to get colder and colder as we went along. We climbed, which meant not just walking but using our hands as well, until about 9:00. By that time it was dark and we had to use our flashlights. After stopping, we took shelter in a lodge they had for about 3 hours. This was the only sleep we would get for the whole trip. Promptly at 12:00, we got up again and started climbing once more in order to make it to the top by sunrise. For 6 hours straight, we cllimbed and climbed with no end in sight. By 4:00 it was strating to get a little brighter and finally by 5:30, we made it to the top. Note: this trek is not for everyone, you must be in fairly good condition to climb this because there are times when one must climb vertically up in order to continue on.
The sunrise was a beautiful sight and well worth the effort. At the top there were little shops and many tired people. I felt very proud to have reached the top but at the same time, a little mad too because after our 30 minute break, it was back down the mountain we went. Going down was not as bad and only took 4 hours instead of the previous 8 or so. By the end of the trip, we were all exhausted, dirty, and hungry. We got to stop at a bath house before getting back on the bus, so at least we weren't dirty all the way home. We grabbed some food also and after eating, everyone just passed out on the bus. What an experience! It was hard, but well worth the effort. I don't think though, that I will do it again anytime soon...

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