MIABarry

I'm thinking of making the climb this summer. I understand the season is July 1 thru August 27. Does anyone have suggestions? Are there any organized climbing groups?

jpatokal

The easiest, cheapest and most popular approach is to take an express bus from Shinjuku (Tokyo) in the evening, this will deposit you halfway up and you'll (just) have enough time to get to the top by sunrise (go-raiko as the Japanese say). During climbing season, esp. weekends, Fuji is a very popular trip and you won't be doing it alone -- the sole time I climbed I actually got stuck in a human traffic jam up top...!

But be warned: Mt. Fuji is probably the most boring mountain in the world to climb. It's a symmetrical volcanic cone, so it's just slog, slog, slog up a zigzag track through a Martian rock landscape for hours on end (4-8 depending on your fitness level). Then you get to the top and freeze your rear waiting for the sun to peep over the horizon so you can head back down. Literally -- it can be 35C in Tokyo and below freezing up top, so bring suitable clothing. At nearly 4 km it's also high enough for altitude sickness to set in. Don't go if there is or has recently been bad weather, landslides and hypothermia kill foolhardy climbers yearly.
One more Japanese saying: you're a fool not to climb Fuji, and a fool to climb it more than once. Ganbatte!

pod

I guess call me a fool, but I'd like to try a different route up this year. Though trad'l would be to climb at night, is there a way to day trip out of Tokyo, either by bus or train in the morning, climb the mountain, and be back to Tokyo in the evening? Is it better to travel via train or bus?

jib71

Day trip is just about possible if you leave Tokyo early morning
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6901.html

MDSD

My kids did it as a day trip from Tokyo, but the weather on Fuji turned foul, and it was late night before they returned; a very long day. The warning on hypothermia should be noted: they were dressed for July heat, got soaked, and made it through with maybe 100 cups of hot tea at the top station.

They could scarcely walk when they got back to the hotel, but both treasure their Fuji sticks.

jpatokal

Actually the canonical way of climbing Fuji is to do the ascent at night and arrive at the summit in time for sunrise. This way you minimize getting fried to a crisp by the sun and maximize the odds of seeing more than clouds. The hypothermia thing is no joke though, as it's often below freezing at night up top, even in August...

mosburger

I guess jpatokal left out the booze thing on purpose. But then it might be fatal to follow general Japanese hiking habits on Fuji.

CVO 1K 2 Million

I used to lead climbing tours up Fuji for a summer (for military tours)...
We would take a bus up to the 5th station (as far up as a bus can go),
hike up about 1/3 of the way just before dark, stay in a go-ya (mountain hut) and get up @ 4am to finish the climb in time for sunrise....so the huts are an option and another way to experience a slice of Japan.
I agree with an earlier poster...Fuji is not really a climbing mountain (boring!)
but a viewing mountain....having said that nobody mentioned the descent in the scree ("lava gravel") option....you can come down REALLY fast..but be careful and keep you leg flexible...there can be boulders hidden in the scree that can make it easy to turn an ankle or worse if you hit them just right

Edited to add...if you take the scree slope your shoes/boots will fill up with the scree unless you wear gaitors or similar...and the abrasion is somewhat hard on your shoes...

JimC

*BUMP*

I will be in Tokyo the first week of October. I understand this is the end of the shoulder season for climbing Mt. Fuji. So reaching the summit is probably completely out, or?

If the climb is very boring, would it still be worth a day trip and partial climb, even that time of year? I can live with the disappointment of not getting to the summit.

jib71

I'm not aware of any "shoulder" season. Ordinary folk tend to climb during the official season. Once the season officially ends (at the end of Aug), everything above the Fifth Station closes down.

In October, you can drive as far as the Fifth Station (about half way up the mountain). Beyond that, the moutain will be unpatrolled. Experienced climbers can climb all the way to the summit in all seasons -- at their own risk.

If you're not an experienced climber, you'd be better off walking in the hills around the Fuji Five Lakes. IMHO, the experiece is more rewarding - better views (i.e. you will see Fuji instead of being on Fuji), better walking conditions, pretty foliage etc.

keihin_242

I've made the climb exactly twice, earning the "fool" award for myself. Although I made it to the top the first time without using oxygen, it's not a bad idea to bring a can or two to ward off altitude sickness, and IIRC 7-11 sells cans fairly cheap. They're very expensive as is everything else on Fuji, although if you have enough money to spend it can be easier to buy water, etc. on the way up instead of carrying it. jpatokal mentioned crowds, and I had to wait in line several times during my first climb - on a weekend in August, which is probably one of the worst times to go. Last time I went on a weekday and things were much easier.

Beware of climbing in October! Most of the shacks and lodges on the way up are closed, and emergency services are reduced. You're also more likely to encounter bad weather.

Also, many people think going back down is worse than the climb. If I make the climb again, I'm definitely bringing hiking poles! You really need support on the descent if you don't want to fall down about 50 times

IMOA

I've done it twice, the first time the weekend after season close (about aug 29 iirc) and the second time around sep 5. I think climbing just out of season is a great idea as you miss the crowds however while almost all huts were open when we went up on the 29th the second time when we went in early sep only about a third were still opn. By october the huts will be closed and the weather will be getting worse so if you are planning a climb at that time I'd say you'd have to be prepared/ have the ability to cope with real climbing in snow/ice conditions and to be able to perform a self rescue.

Or to put it another way, if you're asking about it on a flyertalk forum it's a fair bet that it's beyond your abilities to do with a reasonable level of safety. A partial day climb should be fine though however make sure you check the closing time for the toll road otherwise you'll be in for a cold and not very fun night

CarlTheWebmaster

Thinking about going this weekend (July 11-12) depending on the weather. I'll probably follow the 'normal' plan take the bus to the 5th station on Saturday midday/afternoon, hike up to a hut, hang out for a few hours, and then continue to the summit to see whatever sunrise can be seen depending on clouds.

I think I'm fine gear-wise (clothes, boots, gaiters, headlamp, etc) but am curious about a few things:

1. Water. If I bring bottles can I fill them at the hut/lodge where I stay? People say the water is 'very expensive' on the mountain -- does that mean JPY 500 for half a liter or JPY 1000? I'm leaning towards carrying a couple of liters max and buying more (I try to drink 3-4 liters per day when hiking).
2. Descent. Are there any places to get water or um, 'use the restroom' on the descent?
3. Crater. Worth the hike around the crater rim to see the actual summit?
4. Phones. Is there mobile coverage at the top?
5. Any suggestions about which station to stop at / rest at a hut/lodge (one with reservations by email is a big plus) would be most welcome!
6. Any other tips or hints?

Thanks in advance.

aaron1262

As far as i remember there's no other option but buying the expensive water on the mountain. I bought 2-3 of those huge bottles of water before i got on the bus. but it's heavy so i would buy 1 big bottle and then buy some more as you go along.

There are restrooms coming down.
Cell phone coverage is spotty. you'll have better luck texting

IMOA

1 - Water is more expensive in relative terms but in absolute terms it's only a few hundred yen more. In the greater scheme of things (and costs to get there and back etc) it's something that is best just sucked up so you're not carrying extra weight for the sake of 5 bucks. Everything does get more expensive the higher you go so restock early

2 - If you're using the most common route (Yoshidaguchi trail from kawaguchiko 5th station) then yes, there are toilets on the descent about 2/3's of the way down. These are the best toilets you'll see on the trail (some can get pretty rank, think about that when you're buying water)

3 - Kind of up to you, it's big advantage is getting the full 360 degree view of the surounding countryside imo. You also need to think about how hard you'll kick yourself 3 weeks later when you start thinking "I should have done that" because it's not something you can easily get back to

4 - can't remember, I think we sent an sms but I'm not sure

5 - Not sure, I've not stayed in any of them

6 - bring proper wet weather gear, jacket and overpants (or whatever the outdoors hiking crowd call them). On one trip up we had perfect weather and we hardly needed any gear (not even a torch) and on another we were belted by a storm and weren't as well prepared as we should have been and it turned into a bit of a disaster. Freezing rain/sleet coming in at gale force with wet clothes is no fun. Likewise when you're climbing you stay quite warm but at the top waiting for sunrise it can get seriously cold (and windy). Make sure you've got layers and enough coverage to cope. Oh, and it's probably redundant but gloves are a must, not just to keep your hands warm but also to protect them.

Oh, and I'm not sure how many people go early in the season but be prepared for the fact that Fuji is probably the only mountain "climb" in the world where the hardest bit is standing in the queue

And have fun, the last time I climbed it was with a group of 4 friends out of season so there were probably only about 20 people heading up that night. We reached the summit first so for about 20 minutes or so we were alone up the top which was a pretty awesome experience.