The Japan (Summer) Diaries - Day 11 + 12
Now it's time for the best two days ever, although I certainly wasn't thinking that at the time....
Mt. Fuji Day.
Climbing season is early July through mid September, as this is the time with the mildest weather and typically very little snowy, if any. So when planning this Japan trip with my fellow judokas, our sensei encouraged and suggested that we climb Mt. Fuji, if interested - and couple of us obviously were!
I slept in, waking up in time so as not to miss the hotel's breakfast. The night before, I had spent packing my backpack with all my necessary hiking gear and then laying out my clothes for the next day. After the hotel breakfast, I grabbed my gear and headed to the 7/Eleven on the way to the station to stock up on water for the hike. I had purchased a water bladder for my Northface backpack, a similar one to a Camelbak but a lot cheaper, so I filled the whole bladder up with the giant 2L bottles they sold at 7/Eleven. I continued on to the station, taking the train to Shinjuku, met up with the two guys from our group that were also hiking with me, and then we waited for our bus to arrive.
The bus ride was two and a half hours, in which I couldn't help but dose off, as much as I was enjoying the views out the window. Finally, we arrived at the 5th Station, where everyone typically starts the ascent. We could immediately feel a drastic change in temperature. It was a very welcome change after the intense heat in Tokyo. Not only was it a bit cooler, but we were above the clouds as well, having climbed higher in altitude along the ride. Looking up, you could make out the slope of Mt. Fuji, but not the top due to the clouds above us.
Although we didn’t start the hike immediately, we walked around the 5th station a bit, looking inside the souvenirs shops and visiting the shrine they had. I was growing very anxious to get our hike underway because it was almost five and I wasn't sure if we would make it to the 7th station before sunset, where we would be lodging for the night.
Starting our hike at five, it took us and hour and a half to get to our hut at the 7th station. A surprise to us! Just that first leg of the journey was tough, most likely due to the altitude. The coolness was of course a plus. The view was breathtakingly spectacular, in beauty and in fright. Fun fact: I am not a fan of heights. We took small breaks when needed, to catch our breath or wait for anyone that was behind - which usually it was me! The higher we climbed, the more we could see UP towards the top. Then, surprise, we arrived at the 7th station and our hut for the night. It was just after six, so we put our backpacks down, ate the delicious curry dinner they supplied us with and then it was lights out at seven, so we climbed into our bunks to try to get some sleep before heading out for the sunrise viewing.
All of us had difficulty sleeping, only managing a couple hours in total. We ended up setting out at 11:30pm, in the pitch dark. Good thing we had our headlamps. This was to be the longest part of the hike, taking us nearly five hours to reach the top! It got a bit crowded the last leg of the climb. And oh, did it get COLD. We had stopped at the windy 8th station to grab hot food; it was definitely the best Cup of Noodles I have ever had in my entire life. We ate then continued on, and I started doubting if we would make it in time for the sunrise.
I got separated from the others, and at the last leg, it was so crowded, we weren't going to wait for each other. And then FINALLY, we reached the top. I was so glad, because that was a much more brutal hike than I anticipated. I quickly hurried to find a spot to sit and watch the much anticipated sunrise.
And what an exquisite moment it was. At first, you could see that the sky was lightening, but you couldn't quite see the sun just yet. Then, a red line appeared and was rapidly growing larger. It stretched, climbing higher and higher, and then the sun was up. The crowd watching was quite enthusiastic. It was so cold at the summit, but just watching the sun rise made you forget just how cold you were. And then of course, there was the scalding can drinks I had just purchased I was using as hand warmers in my gloved hands.
After the sun rose, I didn't stay much longer since I was absolutely freezing. I enjoyed the view as much as possible before making my way to the descending trail - my least favorite part of the whole hike. It was gravel the majority of the way down, and very steep and slippery; not at all to my liking and fear of heights. I was silently wishing a helicopter could just whisk me back down to the 5th station. It only took about two and a half hours to descend, thankfully, because I some kind of worn out. We reserved our bus tickets back to Tokyo and waited an hour, roaming around the station, buying souvenirs and grabbing a much needed lunch. The moment I settled down on the bus, I was out like a light, hardly opening my eyes again until we pulled into Shinjuku.
After returning to the hotel, I took a shower to get all the dust and grime from Mt. Fuji off. Surprisingly, instead of passing out immediately, I decided to wait until night to sleep again, and instead headed out in search of a Cat Cafe. Back to Shinjuku, I went! The minimum amount of time for the Cat Cafe I visited was one hour. I bought some cat food to feed the cats - about the only time they wanted to come near me!
For dinner, I stopped at a restaurant on the way to the station, where I got a delicious beef bowl.
Sleep was all I thought about after. For sure one of the most exhausting and exciting days of the trip.
Only one remaining!
Where to next?
