My daughter and I attempted the climb in 2006. We took the bus from Shinjuku to the Kawaguchiko 5th Station, and hiked the Yoshidaguchi trail. The weather was pleasant through most of the evening, but around midnight we encountered strong wind gusts. We and a few other hikers waited next to one of the huts for the wind to subside. After 30 minutes the wind was still blowing, so we decided to get some sleep in the hut. I woke up around 4:00 AM. The skies were mostly cloudy, so I did not get to see the sunrise, but still got some nice pictures as the sun broke through some openings in the clouds. My daughter slept until 6:30 AM or so. The weather was fine as we continued on our hike. We added layers of clothing as it got cooler. As we got closer to the top, we started getting some rain. The temperature dropped, the rain turned to sleet, and the wind started gusting strongly. Just as we started up some stones and steps, we could see the faint image of the torii through the mist and sleet. The gusts were now up to 35-45 mph. The steps were slippery, and I was concerned that the wind gusts could blow my 70 lb. daughter off the trail. At that point I made the decision to turn around. We were disappointed, especially since we were so close, but I believe that I made the right choice and don't regret it.

We were very lucky that we didn't encounter the large crowds that are often mentioned in other posts. In the hut, there was one other person in our area. I don't think there were more than 10 other people staying in the hut. We did the hike during the week, on Tuesday, July 11 to Wednesday, July 12, 2006. My understanding is that school was still in session through that week, and they were expecting the large crowds to start that coming weekend.