“…is a wise man. He who climbs it twice is a fool.” Old Japanese saying
Truer words were never spoken, but we did it! We climbed to the top of Mt. Fuji just in time for a stunning sunrise! And I am so thankful that we did. What an amazing experience! Several people have asked for details of our trip, so I thought I would narrate the photos of what climbing Mt. Fuji is really like.
Our goal…to conquer that mountain
We started at the 5th station around 2:00p.m. on Sunday afternoon. What you don’t see in this photo are all of the other people lined up with their cameras taking pictures of the American family starting their hike. Yes, you read that right….several Asian tourists were taking photos of us having our photo taken.
We were on our way…with hundreds, possibly thousands, of our closest friends. The entire climb up the mountain is done with a line of people extending as far you can see up the mountain with a trail of people following all the way down behind you.
On our hike, we had at least two groups who were part of tours. The lady in the purple hat behind me was the tour guide for her group. We would pass each other back and forth all the way to the top. They would take a break, and we would pass them. We would take a break, and they would catch up with us again. We met several people that way and talked with them as we traded places along the trail. One group of guys was from Italy; one father and son were Japanese, but after noticing Joseph’s shirt, he told us how much he loves Texas! He spent 3 months in Amarillo working and then spent some time in Corpus Christi. He also let us know that he really likes the Texas Rangers. My kind of trail friend! When we got to the top, everyone congratulated others they had met along the way…these strangers that for a moment had accomplished something together. It is a small world after all.
The trail itself varies the entire way. Some areas are similar to groomed trails with wooden planks set like stairs. Other areas are nothing but loose lava rock while still other areas are actual rock-climbing sections.
The trail has dozens of switchbacks, guiding from one mountain station to another. Drinks, snacks, and sometimes restroom facilities are available … for a fee, of course. The restrooms were usually 2000 yen or about $2.00 per visit.
Reaching the next mountain station was always a great feeling! This particular station had a cool entrance gate. You can see the difference in the cloud cover while we were on the way up compared to when we arrived.
Mary was holding onto her hat by the time we got there.
The other really cool thing about each station is the stamp you get on your walking stick. Each station has its own “brand.” As you ascend, you purchase, for about 3000 yen, the brand to be burned into your stick so that by the time you reach the summit, you have an awesome souvenir full of different stamps of Mt. Fuji.
The brand guys at the 3100 meter station saw me eating a tortilla and asked if it was naan. I tried to explain about Mexican tortillas and asked if they wanted to try some. Both of them took a bite and then decided to brand the rest of the tortilla for us.
Another major milestone on our journey
Although we started our hike at the tree line, the scenery was lovely throughout. I spotted a natural heart of rocks and even fireweed, which brought back such wonderful memories of our time in Alaska.
I especially loved being above the line of clouds. Several times throughout the trip, clouds would roll in around us, swirl, and finally settle in below. It made for beautiful pictures…or maybe it’s just the girl. 🙂
I included this picture just because I love it.
At around 7:30 p.m. we made it to our overnight mountain hut, the Fujisan Hotel. (They use the term “hotel” very loosely.) We were treated to a dinner of meatloaf patty, rice, Asian style “hot dogs”, and curry. We were so hungry that it tasted divine! After dinner, we were shown to our loft-style sleeping quarters upstairs, complete with wooden planks and sloped ceilings. We literally slept shoulder to shoulder 12 people across. Now do the math…we are a family of 4. Scott’s exact words were “Joseph…men on the outside…girls on the inside.” Needless to say, we did not get a good night’s rest. The man on the other side of Joseph had a son who was sleep-talking/yelling. The man on the other side of Scott was having trouble breathing, so he was sucking on oxygen for quite a while. The people below us were snoring so loudly that I could feel the vibrations through my pillow.
Up at 2:00 a.m., we had a quick breakfast and were on our way to the summit. Again, we got into a long line of people to make our way to the top. For this part of the climb, we sometimes stood in the line for what seemed as long as 10 minutes before moving forward.
The cloudy hike on Sunday made me a little nervous about whether we would actually get to see the sunrise Monday morning. When we lay down on Sunday night, I whispered a prayer: Lord, please take care of the clouds. I just want to see the beauty of the sky. The next morning, as Mary and I made our way outside, we looked up to see a completely clear, gorgeous sky filled with what must be millions and millions of stars…something we haven’t been able to see since living in Korea. She and I both marveled at the beauty that God had laid before us. I sang quietly to myself ~
O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee:
How great thou art! How great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee:
How great thou art! How great thou art!
A first glimpse of dawn
The moment finally arrived at 4:53 a.m., and it was worth every step of the journey!
We stayed at the summit for about an hour, peeking into the crater which did have some snow and this rainbow. I also got my kiss 🙂 After God so wonderfully cleared the sky for an amazing sunrise, the clouds began to roll back in and make a layer both above and below the sun. It was pretty spectacular!
The journey back down the mountain was nothing exciting. In fact, it was quite painful to the knees. The trail down is a different path than the one coming up and is nothing but loose gravel rock, not fun for trying to keep your footing. We made it, though, in about 3 hours.
Later in the week, I decided to treat myself to an old-fashioned chocolate shake, and getting a seat in first class on the way home made our knees feel fine.
There are so many spiritual applications that can be made in comparison to climbing a mountain. Instead of doing that here, I will just leave with Scripture.
I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore. Psalm 121
Choosing Life 
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