YIPPIEEE! WE DID IT!!!
5:15am... at the top after 9 hours of hiking the mountain! Imagine walking/climbing up a steep slope for 9 hours taking no breaks longer than 15-20 minutes. On top of that, imagine doing it while pulling an all-nighter, into weather that continually gets colder until you reach a VERY chilly 0 Celcius, with a wind so cold you just want to curl into a ball. Once you hit that point you know you are at the top (or pretty close to it!) of Mt.Fuji! Congrats... you have just experienced self-inflicted torture! HAHAHAHA! "Only a fool will climb it twice!"
In 1603, a Tokugawa shogunate (military dictatorship) ushered in a long period of isolation from foreign influence in order to secure its power. For 250 years this policy enabled Japan to enjoy stability and a flowering of its indigenous culture. Fol... ... read more 
