Mt. Fuji!

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Summer camp was finally over and I was all packed up and ready for my trip to Japan. Anthony and I were heading over together for a couple days of exploring Tokyo and Mt. Fuji, then I was staying with a family in Fujisawa (about an hour south of Tokyo), and then finally off to Kyoto for a couple days.

We first landed in Tokyo and figured out the subway system pretty easily. Same as Seoul's but a lot bigger with a lot of lines! We arrived at Kinshicho where we were staying in a Capsule hotel. A capsule hotel is basically a hostel that has a spaceship looking bed that you call your own and sleep in at night. It was made for Tokyo business people who would miss the late night trains and just need a place to crash for the night. Each capsule has a tv, radio, alarm clock, mini shelf, and a light. It wasn't as claustrophobic as I thought it was going to be. You had room to lay down fully and sit up straight. Kind of like being in a hard, plastic tent. The only negative thing is that it gets really hot in there. About halfway through the night you wake up sweating.

The following day we packed up our stuff for Mt. Fuji and visited the Tokyo Skytree first since it was about a 15 minute walk from the hotel. We got to the top pretty quickly and easily in about 20 minutes. We heard some guys talking that on the weekends it can take 2 hours to get to the top. It was impressive being up that high but it was really humid and hazy and you couldn't really see much. Overall, worth the visit to check out and it's air conditioned which is really nice.

To get to Fuji we had a long journey ahead of us. Subway from Tokyo Skytree to Shinjuku station to catch a limited express train from downtown Tokyo up through the mountaints to Otuski which took about 2.5 hours total. From there we boarded a small local train that was really old and neat and wound us through small towns and villages at a very slow rate to the station Kawaguchiko. From Kawaguchiko we had to wait and catch a mountain bus that would take us to 5th station where we could begin the hike. Thankfully we left when we did because that was the last bus that left Kawaguchiko station to 5th station. We caught the 45 minute mountain bus up the winding mountain road before it dropped us off where we were to begin our hike. Perfect timing for a sunset! We woke up at 9am Thursday morning (which comes into play later) and started our journey from Tokyo at 2pm. It was 7pm by the time we had reached 5th station.

Our goal was to catch the sunrise coming over Mt. Fuji so we had to wait for awhile to start hiking or else we would be sleeping on top of the mountain in the cold with ragtag cold gear. So we went to the bathroom, packed our bag some more, ate some miso/noodle soup, and drank some NO xplode (pre workout supplement) to prepare us for the over night hike. at about 8:30 we took off in the darkness for the summit of Mt. Fuji.

The backpack we used was a very cheap backpack that I had gotten in Incheon so it was not ergonomically correct and didn't have any support at all. So every 30 minutes up the mountain we would change and carry the backpack. Backpacking backpacks sit on your waist and absorb most of the load to keep it off your shoulders and backs. This bag sat directly on your shoulders. Needless to say it sucked climbing with the backpack. Plus we brought a lot of water bottles that added to the weight and would jab you in the back. There were about 5 different mountains huts that you could stop at and relax, buy food, or if you had a reservation, sleep in. We opted not to sleep in them because they are pretty expensive and we read that you don't get much sleep since everyone is coming and going at all times throughout the night.

About halfway up we got stuck behind a tour group. It was brutal moving that slowly. Imagine one step every 30 seconds to a minute. Whenever we got a chance we would bypass them and just run up the mountain past them. There was only one section where it was hard. It was steep and rocky and you really had to watch your step. Before and after that it was steady climbing. I think I was pretty used to it after doing some 14ers in Colorado. We were making excellent time and were taking more frequent breaks since we were on target for a 1:30-2am arrival time at the top and that meant sitting in the cold for a couple hours until sunrise. So we would sit for a bit and then get cold and make our way to the top.

We reached the summit of Mt. Fuji at 2am....2.5 hours before sunrise and we were some of the first people there so we got a sweet spot overlooking the mountain and east. We could see all the mountain huts and some random headlamps making their way up the mountain. We took turns guarding our sacred spot and walking around trying to get out of the wind and warm up. We tried to sleep but it was so hard to do so sitting on the ground in the cold with the wind. At about 3:45 they opened up the mountain hut for some food and warmth. It was SO nice to get the shelter and get warmed up before the sunrise. By that time there was a lot of people gathering behind us.

At 4:30 everyone was gathered watching the east. The moon had rose earlier and it was neat to see that come above the clouds. You could also see a snake trail of lights climbing up the mountain and there was a ton of people on their way up! The wind kept pushing the clouds directly over our sitting spot making it cold and making us nervous that we climbed all the way to the top of Fuji for no sunrise.

You could see the light of day starting to creep up and the sky lighten. About 30 minutes later, there was still a lot of clouds swirling around in front of us and the sun was trying to peek through so everytime it did people would "Oooh" and "Ahh". Finally at a little past 5 the sun rose above the clouds and you could hear everyone clapping and snapping pictures. It was really cool to be on top of the mountain watching the sunrise come over the clouds! Quite an amazing sight. I took my GoPro to the top and filmed the sunrise which I am hoping to make into a short movie.

The sun came and started warming everyone up. We sat inside and got a nice hot cup of miso/ramen soup which was delicious. We walked around the top a bit and took some more pics of the scenery and the clouds that were formed below us. It felt like you were in an airplane since it was a sea of clouds below us. We were too tired to do the hour long hike around the crater of Fuji so after an hour at the top going to the bathroom and organized the backpack, we decided to make our way back down the mountain.

The way down SUCKED! It was a long, steep, and dusty journey with a lot of people. You were basically dirt boarding in your boots avoiding people and putting so much stress on your ankles, knees, and quads. Back and forth on the switchbacks for about 18km from what the sign said. Brutal and not fun at all. Finally we reached the parking lot at 5th station about 9am and waited in line for the journey back to Tokyo and our capsule hotel which was still about a 5 hour journey on multiple trains and buses. We were so tired on the bus that we both swore that we could understand what the Japanese people were speaking beside us...it was odd. Not sure I was dreaming or they were switching back and forth.

Back at the hotel we dumped our backpack and went directly down to the spa. There were Japanese showers, a hot and cold tub along with a sauna. After the shower we jumped in the hot tub for a bit then went and sat in the cold tub which felt amazing! It soothed our hot, sore muscles and we just relaxed in there for awhile and decided what we were going to do for the evening. We had already been awake for about 29 hours and it was maybe mid afternoon. So we decided to just relax for a bit and then head out and grab some sushi and walk around a bit and pass out early and get a lot of sleep.

We had a massive platter of sushi. about 50 pieces of freshly made sushi. It was delicious! Then we took the subway to Akihabara which is one of the weirdest places in the world I have been to. It's like anime heaven. Floors and floors of arcade games, anime shops with dolls, figurines, dresses.....very odd. The one store we went in was filled with Japanese anime girl characters and filled with people browsing and buying figurines. Stuff you would never buy or want in your house and everyone was buying them. We walked in there for a bit then realized it was too weird and left soon after. At that point it was close to 7 and that meant bedtime for us!

Overall, climbing Mt. Fuji was definitely an amazing experience and I am so glad that we were able to accomplish this. Definitely a must to see the sun rising over the clouds on top of the highest mountain in Japan!!



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