Mt. Fuji - part 一

Well, I think enough time has passed and my muscles have healed that I can finally write a more positive review of my climb up Mt. Fuji. Overall, it was the most physically and mentally exhausting thing I have ever done. But looking back at the pictures, I can appreciate how beautiful it was. For days, I claimed it was the worst thing I have ever done, but now, I’m glad I went. And climbing with my two friends, Kate and Tristan, made it really fun. Kate kept my spirits up on the way up the mountain, and Tristan kept me from giving up on the way down. I couldn’t have done it by myself.
I started from Wakayama at about 7pm on Friday, July 18th. It was the last day of school, and super hot. I wasn’t feeling very well, so I took a nap before I got on the train to Kyoto, but the nausea stayed with me. At about 9:30, our group left Kyoto station on an overnight bus to Mt. Fuji. I went with a group of JET’s from various places around the Kansai area, and there were three of us from Wakayama. The bus had no leg room, so I didn’t sleep very well at all. I also threw up at the first rest stop. So my climb didn’t start out with me at 100%.
We arrived near Mt. Fuji very early, so Kate, Tristan, and I sat around, ate, and chatted at a restaurant for a few hours. We took a bus to the 5th station on the mountain. There were many souvenir shops, restaurants, and even horses to ride up the mountain. Kate and I had bought small stuffed Fuji-chans as a souvenir, and decided to take pictures of their climb up Fuji too.

Mt. Fuji - part 二

We arrived at the 7th station about 4pm on Sat. There, we had dinner and rested. We each had a “bed” reserved, and we took a three hour nap before climbing again at 10pm Sat in order to watch the sunrise Sunday morning. You can see from the horrible picture of me leaving the hut that I was still a bit sleepy. And despite the uncanny resemblance of our beds to those I saw at Dachau, I slept like a rock those three hours.
Now it was only supposed to take about 3 or 4 hours to make it to the top for sunrise, but we just happened to pick the same three-day weekend that 10,000 other people chose too, so it was quite crowded. My legs didn’t hurt too much on the way up, but the air was quite thin, so it was difficult to breathe. There was so much people traffic that we would take one step up, wait for 3-4 min, then take another step, wait 3-4min. That made it difficult. All of us were so exhausted, that we were almost falling asleep standing, but that would have been awful if we had fallen because we’d take out hundreds below us too. We were climbing in the dark, but we had a beautiful full moon above us, and thousands of headlamps strapped to Japanese (and Kate’s) heads to light our way. I decided not to use my flashlight so I could grab the rocks with my hands to pull myself up.
I am not sure exactly where we were for sunrise, but it wasn’t the top. We stopped to watch it, and then the cold really set in. Tristan and I had a bowl of udon inside a hut to warm up and get out of the chilling wind. I don’t know what the temp was, but it was supposed to be around zero. Kate was feeling nauseous due to the altitude, and I wasn’t feeling to hot either. But Tristan said we have to go up sometime, so we might as well do it now! After the sun rose, we could really see how desolate the mountain is. But it was so beautiful to be above the clouds. I wish I could have bounced and cuddled up in them like in cartoons.
We finally reached the top of Mt. Fuji at 7am Sunday morning. We all collapsed on the ground. Many people were sprawled out sleeping. Actually, the entire way up we saw people curled up fast asleep on the sides of the trail, even on the steep parts!
We checked out the crater, snapped some photos, I picked up a few small rocks for dad, and headed back down.
Now began my own person descent into hell. Apparently we went down the wrong trail, and just happened to choose the longest and most difficult one. Not only was it steep, but it was all black ash and rocks. I inhaled so much dust and dirt! Many people ran down the hill, but I was a bit scared to do a face plant into the rocks. So I went slowly. Really slowly. Too slowly. So slow, that I was passed by a ninety year old man – twice (because he stopped to rest, and passed me again!). Here’s the part where I broke down in tears, upset at myself for being so slow and out of shape. But I had to stop my tears because I couldn’t see where I was going, and the black goo pouring from my nose was gross. Then I finally caught up to the others, had a hissy-fit, and we continued on. My legs were so strained that I couldn't bend them. It was so difficult to go down, but Tristan held his arm out for me when I needed a hand, and kept encouraging me when I wanted to give up and die.
Finally, after walking through a forest, and swearing my revenge on this awful, awful mountain, we made it out.
The best part of the trip was the buffet dinner and onsen after the hike. The hot water felt so good on my sore muscles. And the cold pools made me feel refreshed. The onsen was outdoors, and it was very relaxing to rest looking up at the stars.
After another bus ride back to Kyoto, and a train to Wakayama, I passed out in my apt until the next day. I couldn’t move easily for about two days because my muscles were so sore. But I made it to my last hula lesson on Sat.
I have many funny memories, and others that I’d like to forget. But, overall, I am proud of myself for doing it. Plus, I think it is a good thing for me to realize that I can’t do everything by myself. Help from your friends is a good thing. More memories to treasure from Japan.