As my time as a student at the Tokyo International Business College slowly came to an end, my teachers began to plan and prepare for a summer-holiday trip to Mount Fuji, an exceptional activity that is mostly only possible during July and August when the trails are clear from extreme weather such as snow, ice and strong winds.

GENERAL INFORMATION: Mount Fuji (Fujisan in Japanese) is located on Japan’s main island of Honshū, and is the tallest mountain in Japan, standing at a height of 3776 meters. It is the second-highest volcano on an island in Asia and is considered an active stratovolcano. The last time Mount Fuji erupted was in 1707, causing volcanic ash to fall on Tokyo, which is only 100 kilometres away and can be seen from there on clear days. On a global scale, it has the seventh-highest peak of an island on Earth. The mountain’s exceptionally symmetrical cone, which is covered in snow for about half of the year, is iconic as a cultural icon of Japan and is frequently represented in art and photography, as well as visited by many sightseers and climbers.

For both Japanese and foreign tourists, Mount Fuji is the single most popular tourist site, with more than 200,000 people climbing all the way to the summit each year, mostly during the warmer summer months. On the various trails up the mountain, there are cabins that cater for climbers, providing room to rest and stay overnight as well as food and other goods, such as medical supplies and items that can help with the ascent. Most people want to climb to the summit during the night or early morning to experience a majestic sunrise. Japan, after all, is nicknamed “the land of the Rising Sun”, and nowhere else will you be able to have such a magnificent view above the clouds in Japan. In fact, the sunrise seen from the summit of the Mount Fuji has a special name: Goraiko.

The summit specifically has been thought of as sacred since ancient times and was forbidden to women until the Meiji era in the late 1860s. Ancient samurai used the base of the mountain as a remote training area, near the present-day town of Gotemba. The shōgun ‘Minamoto no Yoritomo’ held yabusame (mounted archery competitions) in the area in the early Kamakura period.

GLOBAL RECOGNITION: Mount Fuji, being one of Japan’s “Three Holy Mountains” (Sanreizan) along with Mount Tate and Mount Haku, has been a sacred site for worshippers of Shinto since at least the 7th century. Shinto is Japan’s indigenous religion, which revolves around the Kami (“gods” or “spirits”), supernatural entities believed to inhabit all things. Many Shinto shrines honouring the Kami can be found at the base and ascent of the mountain. Mount Fuji was added to the World Heritage list as a cultural site on June 22, 2013, as a special place of scenic beauty and one of Japan's historic sites.

According to UNESCO, "Mount Fuji has inspired artists and poets and been the object of pilgrimage for centuries". There are 25 sites of cultural interest within the Mount Fuji locality specifically that are recognised by UNESCO, which include Mount Fuji and the Shinto shrine “Fujisan Hongū Sengen Taisha”, as well as the Buddhist Taisekiji Head Temple founded in 1290, later depicted by Japanese ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai with his “Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji” of which the woodblock print ‘The Great Wave off Kanagawa’ is the most internationally iconic.

The first ascent by a foreigner was by Sir Rutherford Alcock in September 1860. Today, Mount Fuji is an international destination for tourism and mountain climbing. A well-known Japanese saying suggests that "A wise person will climb Mt. Fuji once in their lifetime, but only a fool would climb it twice." The unique mountain shape remains a popular symbol in Japanese culture, making numerous movie appearances and inspiring brands such as the Infiniti logo.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: My trip to Mount Fuji would begin early in the morning of the 26th of July, 2021. Seeing as this was an excursion together with my class, we decided on a common meeting point in Shinjuku, Tokyo, where we would later take a bus together to our destination. During the week prior to the excursion, there were of course several preparations I had to make. I was still missing proper hiking equipment, so the first thing I did was purchase a new pair of shoes and a large rucksack, both of which would later prove indispensable. Apart from material that I had to bring, I would also have to ensure that I was physically fit for this challenge. As a result, I visited the gym daily and ran on a treadmill to increase my endurance.

On the day of our departure, I had to wake up early in order to make it to Shinjuku, since it’s quite a way from my home in Yokohama. I packed my rucksack with food and snacks, several bottles of water, clothes to change into, a heavy rain jacket and smaller miscellaneous items to help me with the climb. As expected, the weather on that day was clear, and we arrived at the “Fuji Subaru Line 5th Station” at 10 am, which is the halfway point of the Yoshida trail at 2300 meters above sea level.

This location was our actual starting point where we met our guide that would be joining us for the trip. We rented hiking sticks, ate our lunch and otherwise prepared for the ascent. As expected, the temperature was quite warm at first, but fell steadily as we climbed higher. We were advised to preserve our stamina as much as possible by focusing our breathing while taking steady steps. The oxygen level would later also change, but that wasn’t an issue just yet.

At around 1 pm, it got warmer and more humid, so I put a cooled towel around my neck to keep myself from hyperventilating. We made sure to take small breaks every 20 minutes or so, where we could drink water and such if necessary.

A while later at around 2 pm, we would finally pass through the first layer of clouds and experience a little fog as a result. The view from here was stunning, being able to see the land below as well as one of the several lakes around the mountain.

Around 4 pm it started to get foggy, and we had to put on some warmer clothes due to the temperature dropping quickly and visibility fell to around 20 meters. We kept hiking up the steepy-sloping trail until we came to a choppy, rocky pathway, which had to be scaled carefully due to the uneven surface. It started to rain shortly after, and the fog density increased seemingly with every step we took towards the summit. Luckily however, we were approaching our checkpoint for the evening, arriving at a cabin to stay overnight. The plan was to have some food and get some rest before departing for the summit just before sunrise.

Unfortunately, due to heavy winds and very thick fog, we received the news at around 1 am that plans to climb all the way to the summit had been cancelled, and that we’d be returning to the main Subaru Line 5th Station a while later instead, at around 4 am. This gave us some more time to rest, which I was happy about, considering that I had a headache around this time due to oxygen deficiency. After further rest and preparations, we were all ready to now descend the mountain, which would surprisingly prove to be the hardest part of the trip. Looking outside now, I truly grasped just how extreme the weather was at this point. There was a crazy mixture of rain, wind and fog, while the humidity remained as high as ever. Everything was white because of the fog; one could barely see 10 meters ahead.

THE DESCENT: The way down really was quite demanding. The extreme weather conditions combined with the oxygen deficiency (which of course none of us were used to) made it hard to stay focused. The descending trail was made of volcanic rubble and was difficult to descend without the occasional stumble. Unfortunately, as we were unable to see clearly, it was difficult to estimate when we would arrive at our destination, making me somewhat uneasy.

After many hours however, we finally arrived back at the Subaru Line 5th Station, relieved, tired and drenched with water. After changing clothes and having lunch, we took a bus to an Onsen (Japanese Hot Bath) at the foot of Mount Fuji to relax after this long and strenuous adventure.

Finally, we took the bus home to Shinjuku, where our trip came to an end.