spiritual surmount to Mt. Fuji
By Irene Kaneko
Mt. Fuji is the tallest mountain in Japan at 3,776m high. It was considered a World Heritage site in 2013. We took the Yoshida Trail, the most popular route and one of the easier trails to hike. Ascent: August 10, 2019, 8:20pm, Yoshida Trail, from 5th Station, approx. 5.8km (3.6mi), average trip around 6 hours I was so excited to start my first Mt. Fuji climb. It was especially crowded since it was the start of obon yasumi (summer vacation) in Japan. It was 34 degrees C when I left Tokyo but I brought my winter downjacket, bonnet, muffler and gloves as the temperature at Mt. Fuji summit can go down to 5 degrees or even colder!
“Life is like a mountain, hard to climb but worth the amazing view at the top. “ - Anonymous
A friend started to share her O2 (oxygen) tablets which we all took. We then prayed for safety and guidance from the Lord Almighty shortly before climbing. We gave a donation of Y1,000 each for Fuji San Conservation. My headlights were turned on. A good friend lent me his mountain climbing cane, which proved to be a big help! It was getting steeper as I climbed the 6th and 7th Stations. Just like in bouldering, I was literally crawling up and grabbing the nearest stone to help me traverse upwards! There were toilets and stores in every station. A donation of Y200 was put in a box for every toilet use. Water was getting scarce as we got higher. The regular
bottled water and other sports and softdrinks cost Y500 each (but regular price in metro Tokyo is just Y110)! At 8th and 9th stations, altitude sickness started to hit me. I had difficulty in breathing. I started to breathe the oxygen in can. I am beginning to get dizzy as well. At 2am, I was really very sleepy! This was really dangerous! I was climbing a mountain half asleep! I saw some people sleeping on the trailsides already! I looked up the trail and saw a line of lights like fireflies and thought that it was still a long way to go!
5:40am. That’s about 9 hours of non-stop trek to the summit! I took a short nap while at the summit. Descent: August 11, 2019 (Sun.), 7:00am, Yoshida Trail 6.3km (4.3mi), average trip around 3 hours Descent was almost as dramatic as the ascent. Little by little, I removed my clothes one at a time as it got warmer.
It was not even halfway down the Yoshida Trail when I ran out of water! There were some stations along the way but for nature’s call only. I was almost at the top There weren’t any but I knew I couldn’t bottled water being reach it in time for the sunrise at 4:51am due to sold from the summit to the crowd. But wherever the 5th station! I was confused on what to do you are, Mt. Fuji will next. But in that kind of surely make you feel situation, mother nature happy, exalted and eventually came to the satisfied with the view rescue! From the of sunrise. Seeing the scorching heat of the sunrise from Mt. Fuji sun, it suddenly became gave me a sense of cloudy and the wind gratitude for all the blew. It felt cooler as I blessings bestowed on continued to traverse me from the One up there. I can’t help but to down the slopes of Mt. Fuji. The cool breeze be amazed with the helped to keep my thirst beautiful nature right at bay. before me. The sunrise was awesome and Unlike the ascent when breathtaking. I finally you tend to lean reached the summit at
