Top of the World
17:30 — I leave work. Most of the day was spent outside the Bic Camera in Yurakucho, covering the release of the 3G iPhone. As a result, I am hot, tired, sweaty, and dehydrated already. After a brief stop in Akasaka to change, make some peanut butter sandwiches, and grab my bag, I leave for Shinjuku with Ryan and Luke. We are going to climb Fujisan (Mt. Fuji).
19:00 — We are in Shinjuku and cannot find the proper bus terminal. After a few frantic calls to Alisa, and some rapid translation, we manage to get all four tickets and board the proper bus. Luckily our bus is empty so we all get to stretch out and take a serious nap on the way up.
19:50 — Bus departs. Only two hours to the magic of Mt. Fuji. I can see the moon from my window. Beautiful.
21:45 — I have to pee like a racehorse.
22:20 — Bus arrives at Yokigaduchi 5th station. It is brisk outisde, so we change and eat quickly before the station closes down for the night and they kick us out.
22:45 — We leave to climb the still-active volcano. It’s pitch black out and there are trees completely obscuring the sky. Most of the travellers with us on the trail are Japanese, but I hear a few lines of accented English. Ryan and I sing ’70s songs to pass the time.
23:30 — The trail, initially a gentle incline, has taken a steep turn upward. The sky has opened up and there are more stars than I have ever seen. Everyone is quiet, enjoying the view. To the left I see the hazy ambient light from civilisation. It seems so distant.
00:15 — We pass an abandoned bulldozer. It is officially the next day and I start counting down the hours until the sunrise. Around the corner is the 6th station. We are making great time.
00:45 — The trail now necessitates the use of a torch to prevent inevitable tripping. We take bets on who will eat it first. I bet Alisa, Ryan bets himself. No one bets on Luke.
00:10 — Luke and I start feeling queasy. Either we ate too much sandwich too fast or not enough noodles in too long. Luke buys another dinner and manages his chopsticks fairly well with icy fingers. We press onward.
00:30 — Alisa now feels queasy and lightheaded. We stop for a break at the first 7th station. No longer ill, I fall in love with SoyJoy. Mmmmm.
01:00 — Apparently the 7th station is actually a complex of several 7th stations. It feels like we are making no progress, I am out of Aquarius (Japanese Gatorade), and it is much colder than before. It must be 14º out. We are all wearing jackets and gloves.
02:15 — Ryan is now feeling under the weather. He falls behind a bit to prevent complete intestinal malfunction. I am told the distance between stations 7 and 8 is the greatest and will take us 100 minutes or more. I see why: the trail has become a series of upward-sloping boulders we must traverse literally on all fours. There are iron chain handrails to keep hikers on track in the dark. Luke and Alisa race ahead.
02:30 — Luke’s coworker told him not to worry about the hike because his grandmother could do it. His grandmother must be a superhero. There is a bottleneck on the trail and the mass of hikers are all walking single file up the steep switchbacks. If you look up you can see a trail of flashlight bulbs leading all the way up to the 9th station. It’s beautiful.
02:55 — My torch dies. I now revise my bet on who will fall down first.
3:00 — I meet up with Luke and Alisa at the 8th station. The hardest part is over. We have less than 2km to go, but an altitude change of 500m. Ryan is trudging along like a trooper. The wind is howling and we are all freezing cold. I am wearing all of my layers: long sleeve thermal, t-shirt, fleece jacket, windbreaker, shorts, sweatpants, rain pants, gloves, knit hat, and socks. I still feel frigid.
3:50 — I buy Ryan a 600¥ hot cocoa to warm him up. Ryan arrived at the top over half an hour ago completely blue and shivering uncontrollably, so, fearing the worst, we bought a one hour rest at the 8th station. We share some nutella and try to guess how far Luke and Alisa are while the colour returns to Ryan’s face. We decide to go for the top.
04:15 — The sky is staring to get light at our backs. We have just passed the 9th station and don’t know if we will make it to the top in time for the sunrise. The hikers have thinned and the wind is threatening to bowl us over.
04:30 — We are 100m from the top of Mt. Fuji and the sun starts to rise. After an all night hike through the wind and cold, it is a downright spiritual experience to see the clouds part and the sun rise. The sun is bright red and sends like-coloured rays through the cloudburst and over the land…just like the rising sun flag. This is quite possibly the most beautiful sunrise I have ever seen. Right now it is just me and this mountain.
04:45 — The sun is warming us up. The view from the top of Fuji is astounding. It’s a clear morning, so we can see for miles. Everyone is congratulating themselves on a job well done. Fuji was no walk in the park, but we all made it to the payoff.
06:00 — I am back at the 8th station. The route down is through a landslide of volcanic ash that’s hard on your knees but easy on your watch. I pay 200¥ to use the restroom, and a woman in the stall next to me spends six or seven minutes solid retching loudly. It is unpleasant.
06:30 — I buy the most expensive cup of noodles in all of Japan for 735¥ at the 7th station. It is also the most delicious ramen I think I have ever eaten. I even lick the bowl. We ask a man how to get back to the right 5th station and he points us down the trail.
07:45 — We reach where the 6th station should be but are blocked off by a series of ropes. We turn a corner down a dry riverbed that faces a gorgeously green valley. At the bottom we see a glistening car park. Ryan and I start planning out what our breakfast will be.
08:50 — Walking down volcanic ash is like skiing on dirt. We are moving quickly enough that when I look back at the mountain, it looks like a postcard. I can’t believe we were just there less than five hours ago. In the light the entire mountain looks different. It literally comes out of nowhere, with flat land on either side.
10:15 — I stop for a snack and a rest. My ankles are quite tired and I’ve lost sight of the car park. Hopefully we will make it to our bus on time.
10:50 — We make it to the car park. We will not make it to our bus on time.
11:45 — Arrive by bus at Gotenba station. We take the Gontenba line to Matsuda. I know it is rude to eat in public but I am terribly hungry. I do it anyway, despite the stares of a little girl and the glares from her mother.
12:30 — Arrive at Matsuda. We take the Odakyu line to Yoyogi-Uehara. I pass out on the train and sleep through the entire journey.
13:10 — Ryan wakes me up in time to get off at Yoyogi-Uehara. We transfer to the Chiyoda line and head back home.
13:45 — I am walking up the steps to my apartment, sore, tired, dirty, and hungry, but incredibly glad for the experience. It was an evening well spent.