Climbing Fuji-san

				and we all removed our long coats from our
In the year 2000, my wife Mandy and I				backpacks and put them on. We got our
celebrated the new millennium by climbing Mt Fuji,				torches out, too, as it had turned pitch black.
which straddles the border of Shizuoka and
Yamanashi prefectures in central Japan.				We were now above 10,000 feet, and none of us
				felt as if we had much energy left. Just then we
When we arrived back home two days later,				heard footsteps coming towards us up the
every muscle in our body ached, our feet had				gravelly path. It was an elderly man, who
blisters, and our toes were bruised, but it was all				appeared to be in his eighties. He smiled kindly
worth the adventure of climbing Japan's most				and informed us in Japanese that the eighth
sacred mountain. Why did we do it? Well, it				station was only a few more minutes up the
wasn't just "because it was there," as the saying				track. This was most encouraging.
goes. It was much more than that; by climbing
Fuji-san we could experience Japan in a more				As we walked with the old gentleman, he
personal, active, "hands-on" way, an experience				informed us that every year since his wife had
we'd never forget.				died, he climbed Fuji-san. He also told us about
				the famous old proverb in Japan, saying,
To say ‘Fuji-san' is famous would be a gross				"A wise man climbs Fuji-san once, but only a fool
understatement. It is a highly venerated				climbs it twice." He laughed out loud at this and
mountain in Japan, hence the honorific "~san".				we all felt a bit warmer and stronger in his
Visiting Mt Fuji is a kind of pilgrimage for those				presence. Soon lights were visible.
interested in Japanese culture. Yet most people
only go so far as to buy a postcard, or see it				We rounded a steep corner and using the last of
with their own eyes from afar. We wanted to				our energy to climb some stone steps, we
go there and climb it.				arrived at the eighth station. Friendly faces
				greeted us inside the well-lit interior, and as a man
It has existed for tens of thousands of years,				there branded our mountain poles, the elderly
possibly more, and is currently a dormant volcano,				fellow bid us farewell and continued on up the
last ‘blowing its top' in 1707, when it covered				mountain! All three of us needed to use the
the streets of Tokyo in volcanic ash. My wife				chemical-based ‘eco' toilets and rest a while
and I first read about Fuji-san when we were just				before we could go any further. We slumped
friends studying Japanese language together at				down on a nearby wooden bench, opened our
university in Australia.				backpacks, had a long drink of water and
				devoured some of our food.
Three years later, we were living and working in
the small town of Ohito, near Mishima, in Shizuoka				We still had to continue on to the
Prefecture. Fuji-san is relatively close to the				‘Yama-goya' (mountain hut) before we could
town, and every morning we would get up and sit				stop for the night, but I felt a bit better after
on our front doorstep with a cup of coffee in				having something to eat, as did Mandy and Kyoko.
hand, and stare out at its majestic snow covered
slopes, always entranced by how it dominated the				Psyching ourselves up, we picked up our
landscape.				backpacks, our mountain poles, and walked into
				the black night, with just our torches to light our
For those who haven't had the pleasure of seeing				way. At 9:45 pm, we crawled up a final rocky
Fuji-san, it is 3,776 meters high (12,389 feet), with				incline to ‘Yama-goya', a large, brightly lit hut,
an almost perfect circular base and a typical				looking not unlike heaven to us.
volcanic cone shape; the gradient of the mountain
slope is about 45 degrees. It is an enormous,				A man checked our names and led us to a small
regal-looking mountain that can be seen over 100				table on the tatami-mat floor. Despite the large
kilometers away in Tokyo on a fine, clear day.				number of people, we didn't have to wait long
				before we were served bowls of hot curry-rice
In the year 2000, we were living and working in				and glasses of beer! It seemed too good to be
Gifu city, in Japan, when we met a Japanese				true, and we were beaming.
friend who also wanted to climb the iconic
mountain. Together we planned and made				A sign on the wall declared in bold lettering that
preparations for our trip there in summer. For				we were at 3,450 meters (11,300 feet)! After
amateur mountain climbers, such as us, it is only				finishing our meal and changing into some dry,
safe to climb Fuji-san in the summer months of				fresh clothes, we felt refreshed.
July and August.
				Before hitting the sack, we decided to go outside
We awoke at 5:30 am on a mid-August morning,				and use some of our bottled water to clean our
had a hot breakfast high in protein, and then				teeth. The three of us sat on an old wooden
caught the train into Nagoya city, arriving there at				plank that was built right out on the side of the
7:30 am. In Nagoya, we met our friend, Kyoko,				mountain, with our feet dangling over the edge,
and the three of us enjoyed a cup of coffee at a				brushing our pearly whites.
café before walking to the bus station. We
were all very excited as we took our seats on				Suddenly we heard a ‘whoosh' and were
the bus to Kawaguchi-ko.				shocked to see our water bottle slide out from
				under our feet and skim down the mountain! It
The bus ride from Nagoya city to the pretty little				had toppled over, and then gravity took it from
town of Kawaguchi-ko (Lake Kawaguchi) takes				there. There was nothing we could do as we
four hours. Upon arriving at Kawaguchi-ko, we				watched it shoot out of sight.
alighted and had lunch at a quaint little restaurant.
Soon after, we had to take our seats on the				That's when we realized how precarious our
‘mountain bus', which took us on the one-hour				position was, and we inched back off the plank
trip up to Mt Fuji's fifth station. The mountain is				onto level ground. Luckily we still had another full
divided into levels, with a ‘rest station' at each				water bottle in our backpack. We walked over
level, and there are nine stations in total.				and joined some other people lined up along the
				edge, and together we watched an electrical
The fifth station is quite big, as it is the last				storm take place in the clouds beneath us. The
station accessible by motor vehicles, and so is				weather had turned nasty below, but the sky
very popular with tourists who want to visit				above was totally clear, and millions of stars
Fuji-san but don't wish to climb it. Hence there				sparkled brightly.
are many souvenir shops, as well as restaurants,
bars and even a small hotel. A lot of Japanese				It was late and we decided to climb into bed.
climbers drive up until this point, park their car,				There was a separate room (dormitory) for men
and then climb to the top, but ‘dedicated				and women. Beds consisted of a thin futon on
climbers' and ‘purists' insist on starting at the				the tatami mat, with a single blanket to throw
very base of the mountain.				over oneself; the futons were side by side, with
				about 30 in total on the floor, plus more placed on
On the day we arrived at the fifth station, it was				second level bunks. I was fatigued and fell asleep
immersed in low-lying cloud! The whole area				in minutes.
seemed to be surrounded by fog, creating an
eerie atmosphere. The fifth station sits at 2,306				Three hours later, at 1:30 am, we were woken up
meters (7,565 feet), just 1,470 meters from the				by a soft metallic gong, and got dressed.
top! What surprised us was how cool it was, but				Altitude sickness had settled in, and in addition to
at this altitude, a drop in temperature was to be				a headache, I felt horribly nauseous. I then
expected. Even during a hot summer, it would				noticed that many of the Japanese were carrying
be freezing at the peak, and so we had brought				small, pressurized cans of oxygen.
adequate clothing.
				Outside, Kyoko and Mandy and I ate the last of
After some afternoon tea, we walked over to				our sandwiches, sipped our water, and checked
the observatory, but it was engulfed in white				the time. It was 2:00 am and if we wanted to
mist, and hence nothing was visible. So we				see the dawn from the summit, we had to be
checked our supplies (clothing, food, water, etc),				leaving. I groaned and stood up shakily. We
and then began our ascent from the fifth station				then joined a slow moving cluster of people and
at 4:30 pm that afternoon. It was a charming				started our final ascent to the summit, as I tried
hike at first; tidy dirt tracks, with forest on both				to ignore my nausea.
sides and white fog all around.
				We saw many shooting stars that night, and for
However after about half an hour, it became				me they were a blessed distraction from my
more challenging. The mist had become thicker,				altitude sickness. Slowly but surely my feeling
and the terrain quite rocky. The forest had				began to change. My body gradually became
thinned out to mostly small trees, together with				used to the different altitude, and I could feel my
shrubs and plants, and the path had also become				condition improving.
much steeper.
				At 3,550 meters (11,647 feet), we reached the
A man leading a mountain horse offered the girls				last level before the summit – the ninth
a ride up to the sixth station, which they gladly				station! Strangely, all three of us were feeling
accepted. Mandy loves horses, and Kyoko had				good then, on our second wind perhaps. We were
never been on a horse before, so I was quite				happily talking to people who were no longer
happy to continue hiking up the mountain, as they				strangers but fellow sojourners. It was then
rode slowly on horseback.				that we saw the first sign of light creeping up
				over the horizon. Dawn was near!
Before leaving the fifth station, we had each
bought a ‘mountain pole' (walking sticks about				Kyoko, Mandy and I reached the summit of
the same height as ourselves), to help us up the				Mount Fuji at 4:30 am, on Friday the 13th of
mountain, and they sure were useful. In addition				August, feeling great! We broke away from the
to using them for support, they became great				long line of fellow hikers, and found a perfect spot
souvenirs as well, because each time we arrived				over to the side, from which to view "Goraiko"
at a station, a heated stamp was burned onto				(the first ray of sunlight). We were exhausted,
them. According to the sixth station's stamp, we				but ecstatic, for we had finally made it to the top
were now at 2,500 meters (8,200 feet).				in time for sunrise!

It was 5:30 pm when we left the sixth station;				Within minutes, the sun started to appear, with
together we struggled up onto the seventh				loud cheers from all the people assembled to see
station, situated at 2,750 meters (9,020 feet),				this first ray of "the rising sun". The spectacular
and already we felt exhausted! We had				event was almost like a religious experience –
ascended to a point above the clouds, and at 7:00				which it was for the Japanese, of course, with
pm we sat and watched the sun sink below the				their belief in Shinto. Mandy and I found that we
clouds beneath us. It was an amazing sight.				had tears of happiness in our eyes, looking upon
However, after a ten minute rest, and a quick				this heavenly dawn!
toilet break, we continued on our way up the red,
stony mountain.				We were currently at 3,600 meters (11,810 feet),
				the lowest and safest part of the summit. How
There seemed to be a lot more people now, all				bizarre it felt to be as high as a plane without
very friendly, Japanese and foreign alike, all sharing				being in one. We were free, like birds high up in
the same pilgrimage as us. Some of them were				the sky, where eagles soar, and where humans
old enough to be retired. Watching them all walk				can achieve dreams.
up the mountain, both below and above us, was
akin to watching a mass exodus of some sort,				While climbing up the mountain tested one
like a scene from the bible or a Hollywood				physically, going down the mountain was just as
disaster movie.				steep and challenging. In order not to lose your
				balance, and roll all the way down, you had to hold
Gradually the path had gone from a walking track				the mountain pole in front of you, digging it and
to a rocky slope, up which we sometimes had to				your feet into the stones and gravel as you
ascend by pulling on a chain threaded through old				made your descent. However this method also
metal poles, hammered into the stony, volcanic				had the effect of jamming your toes up against
surface. Our hearts were pounding, our faces				the inside of your shoes, and creating blisters on
red, and we were constantly out of breath,				the bottoms of your feet. We could hardly walk
wondering aloud just how much further we could				the next day! We made it down the mountain in
go!				just four hours! Weak, humbled and tired, we
				finally arrived at the fifth station at about 9:30
Soon after that, we came to a small shack, just				am. We enjoyed a large, hot bowl of noodles,
a rest stop really, where we were told it would				bought some souvenirs, and took some final
be another thirty minutes to the eighth station.				photos, before taking our seats on the
The light was quickly fading and the mercury on				‘mountain bus'.
the thermometer read just ten degrees Celsius
(fifty degrees Fahrenheit).				Once back at Kawaguchi-ko, we transferred to
				another bus, which was bound for Nagoya city.
We didn't realize that a mountain with such a				We quickly fell asleep, and did not wake up until
gradual incline (from a distance anyway) could be				we heard the bus driver announce that we had
so wearing, but it was like climbing up a steep and				arrived at Nagoya city. Then we caught a
endless flight of stairs. It was dark now, and we				connecting train to Gifu city, where we parted
stopped and rested there, watching as stars				ways with Kyoko, and walked home. It felt
began to appear above.				wonderful to have a hot shower and collapse into
				bed, with images of alpine clouds floating lazily
The temperature seemed to be dropping rapidly,				through my mind.

JapanCook

Climbing Fuji-san