Mount Fuji, Japan

A wise man will climb Fuji once, only a fool would climb Fuji twice. – Japanese Proverb

Another interpretation is “One who never climbs Fuji is a fool, but one who climbs Fuji twice is a greater fool” (度も登らぬ馬鹿、二度登る馬鹿). It’s me, I’m a fool. On July 12th, 2024 David and I successfully summited Mount Fuji.

Alfred, Naomi, David, and I at the summit of Mount Fuji 

Mount Fuji has many hiking trails to the summit, but the most popular is the Yoshida Trail. This year, the government instituted a 2,000 yen (~$13) price tag for anyone wishing to climb, and limited the number of pass sales to 4,000 a day. I bought passes as soon as they were available for two dates, Saturday (Friday ET) and Monday (Sunday ET) because the first time I went, it poured and the next day the weather was phenomenal. We didn’t end up needing the extra passes, and they ended up being available the week before. In the future, I would keep an eye on the weather and buy passes and hostel reservations a bit over a week out. It’s still a gamble, though. Fuji-san is tempestuous.

Last time, I had the privilege of a car. My ex, friends, and I stayed at Lake Kawaguchiko around an hour away. We enjoyed the sites of the lake and its temples, enjoyed local food, and rested. On the day of the climb, we arrived at four or five in the morning, gave ourselves a few hours to acclimate to the altitude, and ascended. I got altitude sickness sometime after eighth station, and the hike took well over ten hours to complete. We vowed we would never do it again (though, at least two of us have since then broken that vow).

This time, David, Naomi, Alfred, and I took a two-hour bus from Shinjuku directly to Fuji-Subaru Line 5th Station (2,300 meters above sea level). We stayed at the hostel at 5th station, which allowed us to acclimate better overnight. It was cold and stormy when we arrived, so we had hot food at one of the restaurants above the shops there. My biggest regret of the trip was not getting hoto, which is a dish local to the Yamanashi prefecture. However, I love curry and could not help myself. We woke early and began our ascent around three in the morning, which was honestly the best time (despite being stupidly early). The prefecture no longer allows climbers to begin between 9 P.M. and 3 A.M. unless they have accommodations on the mountain (either the hostel or huts along the Yoshida trail), to prevent what is called “bullet climbing.” The sunrise on Mount Fuji is incredibly popular, and typically the hike is done from 5th station to a hut on day one, then waking super early and finishing the climb by sunrise to see it from the summit, and then finishing the hike on day two. Originally, we had planned to do that, but the hut reservations fill up well in advance of the passes even being available. And honestly, I found staying at the hostel to be way more comfortable and seeing the sunrise from the trail to be incredibly beautiful anyway. Also, leaving as early as we did, we didn’t really run into any issues with crowding, we arrived at the first hut at the perfect time*, and we didn’t deal with the incredible traffic jam that happens at the rim of the caldera every morning.

When hiking Mount Fuji, people are encouraged to purchase what is called a “golden stick” or a wooden hiking stick. For many people, Fuji is the first real mountain hiking they do, and to encourage people to bring hiking sticks they are sold along the Yoshida hiking trail and at its trailheads. Along the Yoshida trail, there are huts that will brand the staff with a cool, unique stamp. There’s some neat reading you can do on it here.

We got a single hiking stick for David that we stamped at every single station (you could probably skip a few), and we also brought up a slab of naturally cut wood for stamps as well. I was inspired by a colleague of my ex who brought up a wooden picture frame for stamping. Like me, she chose to use aluminum hiking poles and bring up another keepsake. I believe they framed their summit phot with it. Nowhere online does it say they will stamp anything other than the golden sticks, but thankfully they stamped our log, and we’ll try to do something creative with it in the future. David insists he will climb Fuji again, this time with an even larger, more ridiculous piece of wood to get stamped. Mostly to see the incredulous reactions from the hut workers.

So, while I am a fool, David and I had a great time hiking Mount Fuji. Despite storming all week (and continuing to storm today), the storms broke for our hike Saturday and we were able to see the sunrise along the trail. It is one of the best views I have ever seen in my life. We were also able to see volcano Fuji’s caldera, which was veiled in mist last time, and visit the shrine at the summit. With well marked trails, huts with services and restrooms, weather service and emergency services on the mountain, amazing food, and break taking views, I would highly recommend this hike to anyone even remotely athletic. Don’t be a fool, hike Mount Fuji once.

10/10 – Would highly recommend and may become an even greater fool someday

*We arrived at seventh station (sixth is just emergency services) just before opening, and with a little language assistance from Naomi, we learned we arrived only ten minutes before they opened for stamping at 5 A.M.

Yes, that's a vending machine with hot coffee on top of Mount Fuji (which does not have electricity lines or running water). And also yes, that's Fuji shaped melon pan. It was delicious.