21 ~ 22 September, 2013
#22
Yoshida (5th Station) >> Summit >> Yoshida(5th Station)
[12 hours on the summit]
#22
Yoshida (5th Station) >> Summit >> Yoshida(5th Station)
[12 hours on the summit]
In 2013 I have managed only 2 climbs and with the climbing season already over and the weather getting much colder it is likely that this will be my final climb this year. The weather last weekend was very wet on Mt. Fuji because a passing typhoon had created for exceptionally bad weather across the whole country and on Mt. Fuji in particular. For the whole of the past week I had been checking the weather forecast and on the whole it had looked good with just a slim chance of rain on Sunday.
My plan this time was to actually get to the summit in order to see the sunset from near the weather station. I was also hoping to stay put on the summit to wait for the sunrise the following morning. Temperatures were forecast to be in the very low single digits with sub-zero wind chill. I had used my mat and my sleeping bag once before and although it had helped it had still been pretty cold. So, this time I constructed my own bivi bag using 2 silver backed ground sheets which I bought from the 100 yen shop. It basically resembled a rather large envelope into which I could slot my sleeping mat and my sleeping bag. I had assembled this makeshift bivi bag using masking tape the evening before.
I usually head to Kawaguchiko Station whenever I head to Mt. Fuji but not knowing the situation with the buses to the 5th Station I decided to head to Fujisan Station instead. Fujisan Station which was formerly called Fujiyoshida Station and is now the main point of transport to the 5th Station on the Yamanashi side. The journey from my home to Fujisan Station requires 3 changes and takes about 3 hours. The easiest way to get to the 5th Station is by taking a bus directly from Shinjuku but apart from the Keio Highway Bus which runs regularly throughout the climbing season I don't know much about other services to the 5th Station. Those going by train need to head towards Otsuki where you can pick up a Fujikyu Line train to take you towards Kawaguchiko.
At Otsuki you have a choice of taking the Local or the Fujisan Limited Express. In the past I have always taken the Local train simple because it's cheaper and more than that, the train itself is rather cute if you can call a train cute. The Local train stops at every station along the way and takes an additional 20 minutes or so. The Fujisan Limited Express is an oddly shaped train with a bulbous like front end for reserved seat passengers who can enjoy an unimpeded view looking forward. The remaining seating in the rest of the train is very spacious. The ticketing staff suggested to me that for a small additional cost I could ride the limited express. I decided to give it a go because I thought the sooner I get to Fujisan, the sooner I could be on a bus to the 5th Station. In hindsight it would have made no difference which train I took because the time of the first available bus would have been the same. The ticketing staff had managed to convince plenty of people to buy the limited express ticket because about 30% of the passengers ended up having to stand. I managed to get a seat because I had boarded the train when it was still largely empty.
I arrived at Fujisan Station and went round to the Bus Ticket Office and bought a return ticket to the 5th Station, cost 2000 yen. One way is 1500 yen and I've done this in the past when I've wanted to return directly back to Shinjuku from the 5th Station. During the climbing season there is no guarantee that seats will be available from the 5th Station back to Shinjuku but if you return from the summit early enough there are usually available seats on the first or second bus with climbers hedging their bets and booking onto later buses. Anyway, that is a different story. The first bus was not due to leave for another 50 minutes so I went and got myself a burger and fries from the Japanese burger chain called Mos Burger.
The bus left on time and about an hour later we arrived at the summit. The bus was full of day visitors and again I was surprised to see greater numbers of people than I had expected. The 5th Station probably continues to receive tourists and day visitors up until the toll road leading to it becomes impassable. The weather was nice and comfortable at the 5th Station. It was already 1:30 when we arrived and I didn't stay very long. After drinking some hot canned coffee, I put on a long sleeved top under my short sleeved top and was gently heading up the trail by 1:45.
The goal was to reach the summit and walk around to the far side where the weather station is. It had not occurred to me before but having seen some beautiful sunsets in the past few weeks I thought watching the sun sink behind the horizon from the summit of Fuji would be quite spectacular. I was reasonably confident I could make it in time because my average time on a good day is between 3 hours and 3:30 hours. I was also planning to stay put on the summit after watching the sunset and the place I thought I would pitch myself was a spot just below the weather station.
There were not so many climbers as I headed up although I passed by 3 large groups along the way. I kept a steady pace, stopping only twice to take a drink break. The going turned out to be a little harder than I had expected although this time I didn't get the customary headache when I got close to the 8th Station. I reached the summit in just under 4 hours which was about 30 minutes slower than I would have expected. I had passed a few solo climbers along the way but by the time I got to the summit there didn't seem to be anyone other than me. On the summit however, I found 2 tents near the service huts which are open during the climbing season.
The sky on the way up had looked really great and the Fuji shadow had slowly spread out over the cloud layer and created a Fuji shaped reflection on the horizon. I really wanted to see the sunset so I hurried past the tents and headed towards the summit trail heading clockwise towards the weather station. Looking out across the crater to the far side where the weather station is, I could make out a single climber. The sky was a beautiful glow of sunset colours so I picked up the pace hoping I could get to the other side in the hope of watching the sun sink behind the horizon. It was looking increasingly unlikely I would make it in time but I continued on as quickly as I could. There was absolutely no one about and it was getting colder and darker.
The trail up to the weather station is extremely steep and as I headed up I could make out the headlights of a few climbers coming towards me. When the group got closer I greeted them and they turned out to be a group of 4 engineers from Europe. Not just that, they turned out to be from Sakaide where they were on secondment at Kawasaki Heavy Industry. Sakaide is a small town in Kagawa right next to Marugame and Marugame was where I had lived for 2 years when I first came to Japan in 1991. I had been to Sakaide many many many times.
They all looked very well prepared in their gear but they had all run out of water so they asked if I had any water. I had only brought two 500ml bottles and a can of beer with me this time but I was happy to let them take a swigs from my bottle. They told me the sunset had been really great. They also told there was a single climber sleeping just below the weather station. We said our goodbyes and I continued the climb up to the weather station. In hindsight I wish I had just given them the whole bottle because I never drank my beer and I had taken only a few more swigs from the bottle by the time I got back down the following day.
I decided not to go to the spot below the weather station where I had planned to stay and instead continued around the summit heading back towards to the Yoshida side. I was expecting the moon to be up but it was no where to be seen and it was literally pitch black apart from the area illuminated by my headlight. I just hoped I was on the correct trail because there are many trails around and inside the crater. The wind was picking up too and in some places I could make out the edge of the trail and the steep falls beside it. I was relieved when I saw the sign posts which point towards the weather station and the shrine on the Yoshida side. As I neared the Yoshida side I caught my first sight of the moon and it looked absolutely amazing. A few days earlier it was a full harvest moon and right now, although not full, it appeared large and a beautiful dull yellow colour. I hurried on to the spot where I had seen the 2 tents and decided to set myself up nearby under the eves of one of the service huts.
It was about 6 o'clock and it felt incredibly cold. I wanted to set myself up as quickly as possibly so I arranged my makeshift bivi bag on the wide concrete step, inflated my sleeping mat and slid that along with my sleeping bag inside it. I thought I would be able to recline back and enjoy my beer first but it was just too cold so I gave up on the idea of enjoying the beer and just put on my extra layers, took off my boots and got inside my sleeping bag. It felt very cold and with my upper body shivering I was wondering if I would be able to spend a whole night on the summit. I pulled the draw string on my sleeping bag almost to the point I could no longer see out and that seemed to do the trick. It kept out the cold and I slowly warmed up again. I more or less remained like this for another 10 or so hours before the sun came back up again.
I never did get much, if any sleep but I was reasonably comfortable given my circumstances. The sky remained perfectly clear and whenver I focused my attention on a part of the sky my reward was sometimes the sight of a shooting star. The wind would sometimes completely stop and then they'd be a period of almost total calm but for most the night I had to listen to the flapping of one of the tents when the wind was blowing. During the early morning one or two solo climbers came up to the summit and continued past. Around 3:30 arrived a couple of climbers arrived and sat themselves on the end of the concrete step where I was and by 4:30 there were many more people milling around trying to keep themselves warm. I decided it was also time to get up and got myself out of my sleeping bag and put on my rain gear and boots.
We were reasonably well protected from the wind near the huts but moving away from the huts the wind was stronger which made it feel much colder. I decided to head to spot I had passed yesterday when I took the summit trail round towards the weather station. There was a small space on the trail with a rocky overhang which had provided protection from the wind. It was also east facing so I knew it would be a good spot to see the sunrise. When I got there I found a few more climbers but no strong buffeting wind.
As usual the sky was going through it's usual colour transformations and this and the wide vista that greets you from the summit of Mt. Fuji is always a wonderful sight. I waited until the sun had come up and then headed back to the main area where everyone was gathered. The wind was blowing quite strongly and having had very little sleep and feeling tired I decided against walking around the summit to see the Fuji shadow and instead decided to head back down. The start of the descending trail had been roped off but everyone was hopping over the rope and continuing on down.
Away from the summit the wind didn't feel so strong anymore and with the sun up it wasn't long before I was back down to what I was wearing when I started walking up yesterday. By the time I was half way down it was beginning to feel hot and I was down to my t-shirt only. The usual crowds were missing so I made good progress even though I was not going particularly quickly. Going down is not so much fun because the trail is sometimes steep and the small rocks can make it a little tricky at times. The best thing about this descent however was the sky, the sky was a beautiful blue full of wispy clouds. I was back at the 5th Station just before 9 o'clock.
The first scheduled bus down was at 09:40 and I wanted to be on it because I wanted to get off in Kawaguchiko and head for an onsen (hot spring) I knew. I got off the bus at Kawaguchiko Station and looked back beyond the station to see the huge shape of Mt. Fuji. I headed first for the lake where I sat and ate something and then went to the onsen to get myself cleaned up. I had brought a complete change of clothes and it felt really good to shower and dip in out of the hot spring pools. It was then a slow 3-4 hour journey back home again.
I had really wanted to see the setting sun from the summit but despite not seeing it, it had been another enjoyable trip to Mt. Fuji.
My plan this time was to actually get to the summit in order to see the sunset from near the weather station. I was also hoping to stay put on the summit to wait for the sunrise the following morning. Temperatures were forecast to be in the very low single digits with sub-zero wind chill. I had used my mat and my sleeping bag once before and although it had helped it had still been pretty cold. So, this time I constructed my own bivi bag using 2 silver backed ground sheets which I bought from the 100 yen shop. It basically resembled a rather large envelope into which I could slot my sleeping mat and my sleeping bag. I had assembled this makeshift bivi bag using masking tape the evening before.
I usually head to Kawaguchiko Station whenever I head to Mt. Fuji but not knowing the situation with the buses to the 5th Station I decided to head to Fujisan Station instead. Fujisan Station which was formerly called Fujiyoshida Station and is now the main point of transport to the 5th Station on the Yamanashi side. The journey from my home to Fujisan Station requires 3 changes and takes about 3 hours. The easiest way to get to the 5th Station is by taking a bus directly from Shinjuku but apart from the Keio Highway Bus which runs regularly throughout the climbing season I don't know much about other services to the 5th Station. Those going by train need to head towards Otsuki where you can pick up a Fujikyu Line train to take you towards Kawaguchiko.
At Otsuki you have a choice of taking the Local or the Fujisan Limited Express. In the past I have always taken the Local train simple because it's cheaper and more than that, the train itself is rather cute if you can call a train cute. The Local train stops at every station along the way and takes an additional 20 minutes or so. The Fujisan Limited Express is an oddly shaped train with a bulbous like front end for reserved seat passengers who can enjoy an unimpeded view looking forward. The remaining seating in the rest of the train is very spacious. The ticketing staff suggested to me that for a small additional cost I could ride the limited express. I decided to give it a go because I thought the sooner I get to Fujisan, the sooner I could be on a bus to the 5th Station. In hindsight it would have made no difference which train I took because the time of the first available bus would have been the same. The ticketing staff had managed to convince plenty of people to buy the limited express ticket because about 30% of the passengers ended up having to stand. I managed to get a seat because I had boarded the train when it was still largely empty.
I arrived at Fujisan Station and went round to the Bus Ticket Office and bought a return ticket to the 5th Station, cost 2000 yen. One way is 1500 yen and I've done this in the past when I've wanted to return directly back to Shinjuku from the 5th Station. During the climbing season there is no guarantee that seats will be available from the 5th Station back to Shinjuku but if you return from the summit early enough there are usually available seats on the first or second bus with climbers hedging their bets and booking onto later buses. Anyway, that is a different story. The first bus was not due to leave for another 50 minutes so I went and got myself a burger and fries from the Japanese burger chain called Mos Burger.
The bus left on time and about an hour later we arrived at the summit. The bus was full of day visitors and again I was surprised to see greater numbers of people than I had expected. The 5th Station probably continues to receive tourists and day visitors up until the toll road leading to it becomes impassable. The weather was nice and comfortable at the 5th Station. It was already 1:30 when we arrived and I didn't stay very long. After drinking some hot canned coffee, I put on a long sleeved top under my short sleeved top and was gently heading up the trail by 1:45.
The goal was to reach the summit and walk around to the far side where the weather station is. It had not occurred to me before but having seen some beautiful sunsets in the past few weeks I thought watching the sun sink behind the horizon from the summit of Fuji would be quite spectacular. I was reasonably confident I could make it in time because my average time on a good day is between 3 hours and 3:30 hours. I was also planning to stay put on the summit after watching the sunset and the place I thought I would pitch myself was a spot just below the weather station.
There were not so many climbers as I headed up although I passed by 3 large groups along the way. I kept a steady pace, stopping only twice to take a drink break. The going turned out to be a little harder than I had expected although this time I didn't get the customary headache when I got close to the 8th Station. I reached the summit in just under 4 hours which was about 30 minutes slower than I would have expected. I had passed a few solo climbers along the way but by the time I got to the summit there didn't seem to be anyone other than me. On the summit however, I found 2 tents near the service huts which are open during the climbing season.
The sky on the way up had looked really great and the Fuji shadow had slowly spread out over the cloud layer and created a Fuji shaped reflection on the horizon. I really wanted to see the sunset so I hurried past the tents and headed towards the summit trail heading clockwise towards the weather station. Looking out across the crater to the far side where the weather station is, I could make out a single climber. The sky was a beautiful glow of sunset colours so I picked up the pace hoping I could get to the other side in the hope of watching the sun sink behind the horizon. It was looking increasingly unlikely I would make it in time but I continued on as quickly as I could. There was absolutely no one about and it was getting colder and darker.
The trail up to the weather station is extremely steep and as I headed up I could make out the headlights of a few climbers coming towards me. When the group got closer I greeted them and they turned out to be a group of 4 engineers from Europe. Not just that, they turned out to be from Sakaide where they were on secondment at Kawasaki Heavy Industry. Sakaide is a small town in Kagawa right next to Marugame and Marugame was where I had lived for 2 years when I first came to Japan in 1991. I had been to Sakaide many many many times.
They all looked very well prepared in their gear but they had all run out of water so they asked if I had any water. I had only brought two 500ml bottles and a can of beer with me this time but I was happy to let them take a swigs from my bottle. They told me the sunset had been really great. They also told there was a single climber sleeping just below the weather station. We said our goodbyes and I continued the climb up to the weather station. In hindsight I wish I had just given them the whole bottle because I never drank my beer and I had taken only a few more swigs from the bottle by the time I got back down the following day.
I decided not to go to the spot below the weather station where I had planned to stay and instead continued around the summit heading back towards to the Yoshida side. I was expecting the moon to be up but it was no where to be seen and it was literally pitch black apart from the area illuminated by my headlight. I just hoped I was on the correct trail because there are many trails around and inside the crater. The wind was picking up too and in some places I could make out the edge of the trail and the steep falls beside it. I was relieved when I saw the sign posts which point towards the weather station and the shrine on the Yoshida side. As I neared the Yoshida side I caught my first sight of the moon and it looked absolutely amazing. A few days earlier it was a full harvest moon and right now, although not full, it appeared large and a beautiful dull yellow colour. I hurried on to the spot where I had seen the 2 tents and decided to set myself up nearby under the eves of one of the service huts.
It was about 6 o'clock and it felt incredibly cold. I wanted to set myself up as quickly as possibly so I arranged my makeshift bivi bag on the wide concrete step, inflated my sleeping mat and slid that along with my sleeping bag inside it. I thought I would be able to recline back and enjoy my beer first but it was just too cold so I gave up on the idea of enjoying the beer and just put on my extra layers, took off my boots and got inside my sleeping bag. It felt very cold and with my upper body shivering I was wondering if I would be able to spend a whole night on the summit. I pulled the draw string on my sleeping bag almost to the point I could no longer see out and that seemed to do the trick. It kept out the cold and I slowly warmed up again. I more or less remained like this for another 10 or so hours before the sun came back up again.
I never did get much, if any sleep but I was reasonably comfortable given my circumstances. The sky remained perfectly clear and whenver I focused my attention on a part of the sky my reward was sometimes the sight of a shooting star. The wind would sometimes completely stop and then they'd be a period of almost total calm but for most the night I had to listen to the flapping of one of the tents when the wind was blowing. During the early morning one or two solo climbers came up to the summit and continued past. Around 3:30 arrived a couple of climbers arrived and sat themselves on the end of the concrete step where I was and by 4:30 there were many more people milling around trying to keep themselves warm. I decided it was also time to get up and got myself out of my sleeping bag and put on my rain gear and boots.
We were reasonably well protected from the wind near the huts but moving away from the huts the wind was stronger which made it feel much colder. I decided to head to spot I had passed yesterday when I took the summit trail round towards the weather station. There was a small space on the trail with a rocky overhang which had provided protection from the wind. It was also east facing so I knew it would be a good spot to see the sunrise. When I got there I found a few more climbers but no strong buffeting wind.
As usual the sky was going through it's usual colour transformations and this and the wide vista that greets you from the summit of Mt. Fuji is always a wonderful sight. I waited until the sun had come up and then headed back to the main area where everyone was gathered. The wind was blowing quite strongly and having had very little sleep and feeling tired I decided against walking around the summit to see the Fuji shadow and instead decided to head back down. The start of the descending trail had been roped off but everyone was hopping over the rope and continuing on down.
Away from the summit the wind didn't feel so strong anymore and with the sun up it wasn't long before I was back down to what I was wearing when I started walking up yesterday. By the time I was half way down it was beginning to feel hot and I was down to my t-shirt only. The usual crowds were missing so I made good progress even though I was not going particularly quickly. Going down is not so much fun because the trail is sometimes steep and the small rocks can make it a little tricky at times. The best thing about this descent however was the sky, the sky was a beautiful blue full of wispy clouds. I was back at the 5th Station just before 9 o'clock.
The first scheduled bus down was at 09:40 and I wanted to be on it because I wanted to get off in Kawaguchiko and head for an onsen (hot spring) I knew. I got off the bus at Kawaguchiko Station and looked back beyond the station to see the huge shape of Mt. Fuji. I headed first for the lake where I sat and ate something and then went to the onsen to get myself cleaned up. I had brought a complete change of clothes and it felt really good to shower and dip in out of the hot spring pools. It was then a slow 3-4 hour journey back home again.
I had really wanted to see the setting sun from the summit but despite not seeing it, it had been another enjoyable trip to Mt. Fuji.