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The 3rd weekend of August, 2002 I headed out to concur Fuji-san for the second time almost exactly two years to date from my first ascent. If you only know Fujisan as Japan's highest and most respectable mountain, this may not seem strange. But if you've hiked it yourself or know someone who has hiked it, you might be inclined to ask "Why? Why would you climb Fujisan a second time?". My previous ascent was a day trip that started at 12 noon and ended at 7:00 p.m. This time I decided on a sunrise hike. A popular hike in which you start at night, arrive at the top to watch the sunrise, and then descend. I assumed although this was a popular hike, there couldn't be that many hikers willing to do the all-night trek up the active volcano.
We left stage 5 and started the hike at 9:20 p.m. State 5 is the 5th stage of 10 stages of the volcano starting from stage 1 at the base. Stage 5 is the highest point to which you can drive and park. There are shops and restaurants here. The temperature was 55 F. Stage 6 is the information and Safety Guidance Center. Although it was a bit chilly, I was completely comfortable with just a long sleeve thermal top since we kept moving. Stage 6 and Stage 7 come fairly quick. We reached stage 7 at 10:33 p.m. By 11:58 p.m. we had reached stage 8 and the "3 hours to the top" sign. The 3 hours does not include time waiting in line for the tour groups and the other hundreds of people in front of you. Stage 8 seems to drag on forever with various huts along the route.
This is one of the typical huts. You can go inside for a cup of tea, or some ramen noodles. Or you can pay about $25 for a bed and sleep until morning. We arrived at the Original Stage 8 about at 2:21 a.m., an hour earlier than planned. We took advantage of the huts and had some ramen. This was a meal I had been planning on a week before the trip. Since there would be less shelter at the top, we decided to take a longer break here. This proved to be a mistake. We asked about beds, but the price was the same for 30 minutes or until 9 a.m. It was approaching freezing now, so I put on every stitch of clothing I had, my thermal, hat, gloves, two fleeces, and my triple layer Gortex jacket. Then we tried to get some sleep outside the hut sitting on the ground. I don't remember actual getting any shut-eye, but I must have slept for at least 10 minutes straight at one point. My buddy woke me up saying we overslept and we only had 1 hour and 20 minutes to get to the top.
This photo is not very good, but I have included it because you can see the hoards of people lined-up waiting to get to the top. Hindsight being 20/20, I wished we would have continued straight to the top before sleeping off our "extra" time. There were times we could not move forward at all for a minute or two. The sun had begun to rise, but was still behind the clouds. About 20 minutes after the first sign of light, at 5:12 a.m., we arrived at the Stage 10 the peak. The sun had not broke though the clouds yet. We took a quick photo as hundreds more people still waited to get in. From the entrance to Stage 10, we continued past the huts, shops, and hundreds of people sitting on the mountain side watching the sunrise, and continued to this shrine at the top.
Finally, the sun broke through the clouds and everyone started clapping and cheering. We headed down at 6:30 a.m. It was not too congested so we glissaded down in the soft dirt most of the way. The decent trail is separate from the ascent trail. We only stopped at Stage 7 to use the toilet, and then continued down at a slow jogging pace. We arrived at the trail head at 8:15 a.m., and walked to the parking lot by 8:25 a.m. Although our descent time from Stage 10 to Stage 5 parking lot was only 1 hour and 55 minutes, this can be considered fast so you should plan for a realistic time based on your party's ability level. This will likely be my last trip climbing Fujisan, as there are many other mountains, not nearly as commercial or crowded.
For many the question is not when to climb Fujisan, as much as it is whether to climb Fujisan. Fujisan is devoid of trees and is mostly comprised of loose dirt and gravel. Further more it is extremely crowded and commercial. Don't expect to find a season when "nobody goes" unless it requires the use of cramp-ons! Whether or not to climb Fujisan greatly depends on your intent. If you are looking to get away to nature then look elsewhere to spend the day. If your looking for great photos, then your better off taking them of Fujisan from a distance. Mine was the simple need for the conquest, the adventure, or experience. I am reminded of the Japanese Proverb "Ichido mo noboranai baka, nido noboru baka" which means "Only a fool doesn't climb Fujisan once and a only fool climbs it twice!" If you do go, for what it is worth, although more crowded, I enjoyed the sunrise hike more than my original daytime ascent.
If you do hike Fujisan, the season is from July 1 to August 31. The park is not closed after that but the buses stop and the mountain huts shut down. Once Fujisan get snow it will be a very dangerous ascend except for the experience alpine mountaineer. For day hike leave early to allow time for the round trip, crowds, and time at the top. If you do the sunrise hike you will want to leave early enough to get to the top before the crowds. Unfortunately this means you will be waiting for the sunrise at the top where it is coldest. If you hike late in the season like I did bring plenty of warm clothes!