Fuji-san:
The highest mountain in Japan is in fact a dormant volcano of 3776 meters. The last eruption happened in 1707 A.D. and it spewed ashes as far as Edo (modern day Tokyo).
There are hundreds of thousands of pilgrims that climb Fuji-san in season each year (1st of July to 31st of August)! So if you don't want to have to wait for the people in front of you and not be pushed by the people behind you, simply climb before or after those dates!
That's what I did, but not intentionnally. I didn't know when the season started or finished. There were not a lot of people when I went; except for the few Gaijins crazy enough to do it. I also climbed it during the night so I could see the sunrise.
I left Ustunomiya early with a friend, but I only arrived in the early afternoon. The trip was quite long!
When I arrived there, I took my time taking a few pictures:
Finally, I took my courage in both of my hands and I started my trek around 6 p.m. all alone - the climb didn`t interest my friend. I have to admit that I was lucky. The sky was clear and there were only a few clouds. While climbing, I met some Italians that were climbing for the third time! The other 2 times they had to turn back because of really bad weather!
It was difficult physically! I gave my 110%! I went beyond myself! Anyway, you catch my drift. Climbing a mountain with the moon shining on you and then seeing the sunrise was so fantastic an experience that even pictures - no matter how nice - become a pale imitation of the reality.
I stopped a the 8th station of Fuji-san to rest. Those stations are pretty expensive: 6000 ¥ for a small matress on the ground. Even if you can take as many blankets as you want (it's really cold and the "shack" isn't insolated), it's a ripoff!!!
I left there at 3 a.m. I had 2 hours left to the summit. I arrived at the summit and it was as black as hell (some &/*"@ clouds blocked the moon). I only could see the lights of the villages at the foot of Fuji-san.
By the way, don't forget to bring with you on your attempt to conquer this mountain at least 2L of water, warm clothes (wool shirts, a winter coat, a pair of mittens, a touque, and a scarf), 2 t-shirts (you'll sweat a lot so you'll need them - TRUST me), a flashlight, a rain coat (you never know), some grub and, of course, a camera (duhh!).
‹---This pictures is of the landmark that indicats the summit of Fuji-san
I arrived in time for the show! It was really cold on top, so cold that the mechanism of my camera froze!!! OK, it wasn't a Siberian cold, but with the wind factor it was at least -15°C to -20°C. Not that cold?!?! IT IS if you consider that it was 23°C at the food of the mountain, OK!
Unfortunately,
I didn't stay a long time there. I was there just long enough to take a picture
of the crater and I decided it was time to go back.
I didn't take a picture of the bottom of the crater. The reason why was that the wind was really strong! I thought that if there was a gush of wind while I looked down over the edge of the crater,... Let's just say that it could have been a one way ticket down to the bottom - 100 meters down!
Souvenir shops, a shrine, inns, etc at the summit. I climbed out of season, so everything was closed!
The
way down was hard. My feet slipped inside my boots because of the volcanic pebbles.
The results: two feet full of blisters when I arrived down. The worst of it
all was that I still had to go back to Utsunomiya. Arrggh!!
I was happy to have vanquished Fuji-san, but a long time ago a wiseman said,"He who climbs Fuji-san once is wise man. He who climbs it twice is a fool". After experiencing it firsthand, I FINALLY understand this proverb!