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!

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!

I was almost at the top but I knew I couldn’t reach it in time for the sunrise at 4:51am due to the crowd. But wherever you are, Mt. Fuji will surely make you feel happy, exalted and satisfied with the view of sunrise. Seeing the sunrise from Mt. Fuji gave me a sense of gratitude for all the blessings bestowed on me from the One up there. I can’t help but to be amazed with the beautiful nature right before me. The sunrise was awesome and breathtaking. I finally reached the summit at 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. There weren’t any bottled water being sold from the summit to the 5th station! I was confused on what to do next. But in that kind of situation, mother nature eventually came to the rescue! From the scorching heat of the sun, it suddenly became cloudy and the wind blew. It felt cooler as I continued to traverse down the slopes of Mt. Fuji. The cool breeze helped to keep my thirst at bay.

Unlike the ascent when you tend to lean forward, during descent, you tend to lean backward when walking as you try to control your pacing. As a result, your toes are pushed towards the tip of your shoes. Not even halfway through, I felt my toes start to hurt. Walking has become a pain! I needed to rest my feet every now and then! I was walking sideways already trying

to prevent my toes from touching my shoes! My friend was literally holding my arm already, as one would help an elderly person, while my other arm was holding a cane! When we reached the 7th Station, my feet and knees were really hurting I could cry! I was thinking I would not be able to make it to the 5th Station anymore! So, I called the Rescue Team for help. I was told that they can provide a horse to take me from where I am to the 5th Station but it would cost me Y30,000! I did not bring that much cash! Hearing this, my good Samaritan friend offered to carry my heavy backpack! He said there’s no other way but to walk slowly and rest after a few meters. And so we did!

After awhile, an open truck passed us by. At the back, we saw a man and woman with very sad faces looking at a rolled futon (bed sheet) in front of them. At one side of the futon, my friend said he saw a person’s feet! Oh my God! It was a dead person! We prayed immediately for the soul to rest in peace. I was thinking if this was the way that the Lord was showing me to give me the strength to continue walking. I still felt so lucky!

Then after a few hours, I saw a woman with a leg disability but still trying to walk by herself with two canes! The Lord is trying to show me again something! Seeing this made me realize that if she can do it, why can’t I? So, this gave me the inspiration to reach the finish line! But Yoshida trail was like a “long and winding road”! I couldn’t see the end of it! The Yoshida Trail was really harsh and punishing! I was crying already but my two good Samaritan friends cheered me up! Some Japanese came up to us asking if I was fine. Then we said we don’t have water anymore. And they gave us a bottle of water! You can imagine how we felt that time. Water felt gold to us. So precious and very important to the last drop!

I finally reached the 5th station at 3:00pm! That was 8 hours of grueling walk! The first aid volunteers at the 5th Station were so kind to immediately treat my aching and swollen feet!

According to my friends who had climbed Mt. Fuji, they said that they were not able to walk the next day. I guess it’s true. I was ready for the climb but there are circumstances that you won’t see coming. My four years of regular training was not enough to match the test of endurance that Mt. Fuji showed me.

Yes, I am so lucky I made it to the summit and back home safely with my family! I have seen not only the beauty of Mt. Fuji from afar but tasted its wrath when I climbed it! I wonder what makes people go back a second time or more? For me, once is enough but I’ll never forget this Mt. Fuji experience.

My advise to those who want to climb Mt. Fuji? Prepare all the climbing equipment needed. Be in your hiking gear. Make sure you don’t have health issues like asthma, heart problems, etc. Better consult your doctor about your plan on climbing Mt. Fuji. Try to have 2-3 hours rest by sleeping at the 8th Station hut before climbing the summit to give you renewed energy. But most of all, be sure to have the patience, power and positivity to finish the test Mt. Fuji will put forth before you.

My gratitude to Daniel P. Tanciatco and Mimi Takamatsu for patiently walking with me with my hurting feet and knees.