Mt. Fuji: Horrible Experience with Amazing Memories

Ready to climb Mt. Fuji?

Growing up in Japan, I had always thought about climbing Mt. Fuji sometime in my life. I was lucky to have that “sometime in my life” in 2015, 2016 and 2018. After making it to the summit for 3 times, I would like to share how it was like and what to prepare for the horrible experience that leaves you amazing memories.

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When to climb Mt. Fuji?

You can only climb Mt. Fuji between July and September. The precise period depends on the routes you choose but it’s safe to say that it’s open from July 10th to September 10th. Check the exact period Official Web Site for Mt. Fuji Climbing before you make your plan.

Check the Weather

Before you climb Mt. Fuji, you definitely have to check the weather. I know it’s hot and humid Japanese summer, but it’s cold up there and you wouldn’t like to be there when the weather is not good. You can check the weather at てんきとくらす(※) and make sure the weather is alright when you climb.

※It’s in Japanese but you get the idea when not to climb the mountain.

How to get to Mt. Fuji from Tokyo

The easiest way to get to Mt. Fuji (the 5th station) is by bus. There is a huge bus terminal called Shinjuku Basuta (abbreviation of Bus Terminal) located near the JR South Exit in Shinjuku Station. It takes 2.5 to 3.5 hours and costs around JPY3000 single way.
※It was JPY 1750 when I went there in 2015 and 2016. Oh bastards.

You can book your bus either on highwaybus.com or at Shinjuku Basuta.

Please leave a comment if you need my help to book your bus. I’d be happy to help you.

Another way to get to Mt. Fuji from Tokyo (Shinjuku to be precise) is by train. Here is the cheapest way you can get there:
– Shinjuku to Takao (Keio Semi-Express Line for Takao-san-guchi, JPY367)
– Takao to Otsuki (JR Chuo-honsen for Kofu, JPY594)
– Otsuki to Kawaguchiko (Fuji Express Line for Kawaguchiko, JPY1161)
– Kawaguchiko to Mt. Fuji 5th Station (Price Subject to Change)
It takes 3.5 to 4 hours.

I would advise you to book the bus after making sure the weather will be fine.

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What You Need

Here is what I brought:
– 2 heattech long sleeves: quite thin and warm shirts with long sleeves
– 1 pair of normal socks and 1 pair of socks for skiing/skating
– warm and comfortable jacket
– rain gear
– snacks (rice cracker with peanuts, chewing gums, salty candies, etc.)
– 2l of tea
– hiking boots

Remember, it’s going to be really cold up there so be prepared to stay warm. Also snacks with high calorie would help. Water/Tea would also be essential, as there are not many places where you could get them. Even if you found them, they’d be expensive.

Strategy: Keep yourself Warm, but…

I’ve climbed Mt. Fuji for 3 times and I’ve always started in the evening, after 18:00. I have never booked huts to rest, as I was never sure about my schedule and once I was sure about my schedule, it was too late to book huts.

So basically I got no places to rest under the roof. Therefore I needed to keep myself always warm enough. I had warm jacket and rain gear, and I was climbing up the mountain, so I could keep myself warm as long as I kept moving.

You really have to know that once you reached the top, you won’t really move anymore until you see the sunrise. And even though there are restaurants/cafes at the top of the mountain, they would not open until 3:00am, or 3:30am, depending on how they feel.

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So you have to move fast enough to keep yourself warm, but slow enough not to reach to the top before 3:00am. I suffered a lot when I went there for the 2nd time because I got to the top of the mountain too early.

Time Taken to the Top and Come Down

I kept the record when I went there for the 2nd and 3rd time so I would like to share with you. I hope this will help you get the idea how long it would take to reach to the top and come down to the 5th station.

July 16th, 2016:
17:30 arrived at the 5th station
19:30 started walking
20:00 arrived at the 6th station
20:48 arrived at the 7th station
21:12 left the 7th station
22:30 arrived at the 8th station
22:42 left the 8th station
25:20 arrived at the 9th station
26:20 made it to the top, cold as hell
27:20 still waiting for a restaurant to open
27:30 the restaurants opened
28:40 sunrise
29:00 left the summit and went down
33:00 made it back to the 5th station

※It took 7 hours to reach to the top, and 4 hours to come down to the 5th station

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July 15th, 2018:
20:10 arrived at the 5th station
20:35 left the 5th station
21:10 arrived at the 6th station (didn’t stop here)
21:55 arrived at the 7th station
23:33 arrived at the 8th station!
23:41 left the 8th station
25:35 arrived at the 8.5th station: kind of cold when I stop but it’s still manageable
25:40 left the 8.5th station
26:20 arrived at the 9th station (didn’t stop here)
27:03 made it to the top
27:45 went into a restaurant and had pork soup (¥800)
28:35 sunrise
28:55 started to go down
31:37 came back to the 5th station
31:50 first toilet since yesterday evening before I left the 5th station
34:00 left the 5th station by bus
36:30 got to Shinjuku Busta

※It took 6.5 hours to reach to the top, and 2.5 hours to come down to the 5th station

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Small Tips

Here are other small tips I would like to share with you:
– No free toilets after the 5th station: go pee at the 5th station
– No garbage bins: don’t buy any drinks in can at the 5th station, it’s a trap!
– No restaurants/cafes at the top of the mountain open before 3am

So basically no matter how attractive a drink in a can you find at a vending machine, don’t buy it. Or else you’d have to carry it all the way to the top and the way back. You can find it cheaper anywhere else anyway.

Also I’m a person who wouldn’t pay to pee, so I’m proud as hell to hold it for 11 hours when I climbed in 2018.

How did I feel when I was climbing?

To be honest, I didn’t enjoy it that much when I was climbing. Especially in the beginning, as it’s quite sandy and hard to walk.

From the 5th station to the 7th stations, it would be pretty boring and hard to walk. After the 7th station, however, it gets rocky and fun to finally “climb”.

After the 8th or 9th station, it gets crowded and you couldn’t walk with your own pace anymore. The whole process to the top is tough. It could get boring. I stopped thinking and started mildly meditating, just to move my foot forward. It wasn’t really fun.

Was it worth it? HELL YES

As much of hatred I had towards myself to have made that decision when I was climbing, it left me beautiful memories once I came down and got on the bus to Tokyo.

It was tough for sure, but the view I saw from the top of the highest mountain of Japan was definitely something.

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Also I was quite lucky. When I climbed for the first time in August 2015, I saw the full moon, lightning and fireworks at the same time at the 6th station.

Yes, for some reason the weather was perfect on one side and damn rough on the other side. And I could also look down on fireworks near Kawaguchiko, the huge lake near Mt. Fuji, as they happened to have a firework competition when I was there.

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Would I do it again? …ahm yes I guess?

To be honest, I didn’t like it when I was climbing. But when I look back I always have more of good memories than bad ones. I still remember how tough it is so I’m not going to actively climb again, but if someone asks me to go climb with them, I know I would say “…ahm yes I guess?”.

Oh by the way, as we write Mt. “Fuji”, Japanese people pronounce it “Huji” with an “h”. We don’t have an “f” sound in the Japanese language and lots of people have problem pronouncing it. I might write about it soon.