28 ~ 29 July, 2014
#24
Yoshida (5th Station) >> Summit >> Yoshida(5th Station)
[Slow and steady]
#24
Yoshida (5th Station) >> Summit >> Yoshida(5th Station)
[Slow and steady]
I had been thinking of going to Fuji again with the intention of climbing up the Gotemba trail to see the sunset, down the Fujinomiya (since I have never experienced that trail), then up the Fujinomiya to see the sunrise and then back down the Yoshida trail to the 5th Station and home. The weather again had been changeable for the past week but with a perfectly clear forecast, low winds and good temperatures I got my pack together and set out by train and bus for the Yoshida 5th Station. Going with my original plan would have involved a very early start and not feeling as energetic as I had done when I came up with the original plan, I decided to take it easy and do just the Yoshida trail.
I bought a round trip bus ticket at Fujisan Station for the Yoshida 5th station (2100 yen) and took the 17:50 bus which arrived on time at the 5th Station at 18:50. With it not being a weekend the place was not particularly busy. The first noticeable difference from my last visit last year was that the main buidling where most people buy snacks, souvenoirs and such like had been completely refurbished - exterior and interior. The second floor had a new cafe/restaurant and rest area which was really good. Peak times it could I would imagine be very crowded but as it was, it was not too crowded. The other good news was that this 2nd floor cafe/restaurant is open 24 hours and accessible via a different entrance when the first floor shop connecting to it closes at 20:00.
My plan was to leave just after 10 o'clock and just as the shop downstairs was closing and shuttering up I got myself ready and waited outside. Most of the climbers had already left but there were still a handful waiting to leave. The sky was very clear, virtually no wind and a reasonably nice temperature. I was dressed in a long sleeve top and long hiking trousers. I was carrying plenty of other layers but they would not be needed until I got much closer to the top.
Another change was a refurbished information center and the official introduction of a 1000 yen admission fee. For that you received an official badge. The photo on the front of the badge is of a famous wood block print. The artist who did it created 36 different Mt. Fuji scenes and I'm not sure but maybe the badges will carry different images of these scenes. I will find out the next I visit Fuji again.
I set out at 20:15 at a very gentle steady pace. I could see a few headlights ahead of me and there were still a few others joining the trail from behind but there were generally very few people near the start. Looking uptowards the summit however I could see the lights of climbers already hiking up and there seemed to be a lot more than I had imagined there would be. My pack as usual was heavier than it probably needed to be but with the calm weather the going was relatively good.
I stopped briefly near the 6th Station Safety Center for a drink and then continued my gentle pace all the way to the first mountain hut. Sunrise was going to be around 04:30 and I didn't want to arrive on the summit too early and get cold waiting. I had my sleeping bag just in case but I figured it would be better to just take it slowly. Taking it slowly seemed to be the only option because for some reason I probably couldn't have gone any faster even if I had wanted to. I kept to my pace just stopping at the rest huts to drink some water and a few bites of some light snacks.
It was around 1 o'clock when I got up near the 8th station huts and the people who had climbed up in the day time and rested in the huts were now starting to make their way to the summit. At near one of the final 8th station huts I could see a long line climbers heading up towards the summit and rather than joinng them I decided I would detour and join the Subashiri trail. I put on an extra layer and my wind breaker top and bottom, left the mountain huts and got onto the Subashiri trail. The wind had started to pick up a little but the temperature was still relatively good.
I had expected to see some people on the Subashiri trail but it was completely desserted when I joined. The Subashiri trail at this point and for the next 1.5km or so is very steep and the going was much harder that I could remember so I found myself stopping to catch my breath every now and again. The sky was perfectly clear and with no moon the stars were really easy to see. Several times I stopped and switched off my light and focused my attention on a particular part of the sky to see if I could catch a shooting star and as on other recent trips I didn't have to wait for too long to see one.
As I continued on up I met a lone climber coming back down the Subashiri trail and not long after I could make out the lights of a small group ahead of me. I caught up with them and tagged along at their pace before leaving them behind when they stopped to rest and continued to the final bend on the Subashiri route to the summit. This bend is recognizable even in the dark because it has a huge rock right next to it. From there it's just a short 200m or so to the summit area. I stopped here to put on my remaining layers and looked out for more shooting stars. The time was about 03:20 so I was going to make it to the summit area in time for the sunrise.
The main shops on the summit were all open and there was a large group of people outside one of them with many people already seated on the wooden benches waiting for the sunrise which would not be for another 50 minutes or so. I decided to continue anti-clockwise around the summit and head for the weather station. As I left the main summit area on the east side and made my way around the crater I could make out climber's headlights nearing the weather station. The walk to the weather station is a little over 1km on an undulating trail which in parts is quite steep but by about 04:15 I was just below the weather station.
There were people already up outside the weather station viewing area so I decided to stay put and waited just on the crater edge to catch the sunrise. There was cloud far down away on the horizon created 3 very distinct layers. A large empty blue stretching upwards, a thin strip of red/yellow and then the darker cloud layer below. My view was framed nicely by 2 small peaks on the east side where most people gather and around 04:45 a dull red sun slowly emerged from the clouds and not soon after the whole summit was bathed in warm sunshine. I packed up and retraced my steps back the way I had come. On the way I stopped to see the Mt. Fuji shadow. Like the sunrise the shadow too comes out differently depending on the weather conditions and on this day it wasn't as sharp and dark as it can be but it still looked impressive.
I then headed all the way back to the main area where most of the climbers were resting before heading down again. I found a spot, removed all my excess layers and ate the pasta I had prepared for myself and had intended to eat yesterday before setting out from the 5th Station. Rested as rested as I could be I then headed for the descending trail which is also the ascending/descending Subashiri trail I had come up an hour or so earlier. It was getting hot and I was not looking forward to the hike down. The same parts which make the climb up hardgoing make it just as tough when you go down. The main risk is just tumbling over but when you feel tired it seems like an endless slog. I stopped a few more times than I generally do but I made it back to the 5th Station just before 9 o'clock.
I had about 30 minutes to clean myself up before the first bus departed down towards Kawaguchiko and Fujisan Station. The 5th Station was crowded already with day visitors and the weather was glorious. On another day I would have spent more time there but today I just wanted to come home and sleep. After getting off at Fujisan Station I got on the first of many trains to make my way home. It took almost as long to get home as it had done to climb to the summit but another trip to Mt. Fuji was over.
I bought a round trip bus ticket at Fujisan Station for the Yoshida 5th station (2100 yen) and took the 17:50 bus which arrived on time at the 5th Station at 18:50. With it not being a weekend the place was not particularly busy. The first noticeable difference from my last visit last year was that the main buidling where most people buy snacks, souvenoirs and such like had been completely refurbished - exterior and interior. The second floor had a new cafe/restaurant and rest area which was really good. Peak times it could I would imagine be very crowded but as it was, it was not too crowded. The other good news was that this 2nd floor cafe/restaurant is open 24 hours and accessible via a different entrance when the first floor shop connecting to it closes at 20:00.
My plan was to leave just after 10 o'clock and just as the shop downstairs was closing and shuttering up I got myself ready and waited outside. Most of the climbers had already left but there were still a handful waiting to leave. The sky was very clear, virtually no wind and a reasonably nice temperature. I was dressed in a long sleeve top and long hiking trousers. I was carrying plenty of other layers but they would not be needed until I got much closer to the top.
Another change was a refurbished information center and the official introduction of a 1000 yen admission fee. For that you received an official badge. The photo on the front of the badge is of a famous wood block print. The artist who did it created 36 different Mt. Fuji scenes and I'm not sure but maybe the badges will carry different images of these scenes. I will find out the next I visit Fuji again.
I set out at 20:15 at a very gentle steady pace. I could see a few headlights ahead of me and there were still a few others joining the trail from behind but there were generally very few people near the start. Looking uptowards the summit however I could see the lights of climbers already hiking up and there seemed to be a lot more than I had imagined there would be. My pack as usual was heavier than it probably needed to be but with the calm weather the going was relatively good.
I stopped briefly near the 6th Station Safety Center for a drink and then continued my gentle pace all the way to the first mountain hut. Sunrise was going to be around 04:30 and I didn't want to arrive on the summit too early and get cold waiting. I had my sleeping bag just in case but I figured it would be better to just take it slowly. Taking it slowly seemed to be the only option because for some reason I probably couldn't have gone any faster even if I had wanted to. I kept to my pace just stopping at the rest huts to drink some water and a few bites of some light snacks.
It was around 1 o'clock when I got up near the 8th station huts and the people who had climbed up in the day time and rested in the huts were now starting to make their way to the summit. At near one of the final 8th station huts I could see a long line climbers heading up towards the summit and rather than joinng them I decided I would detour and join the Subashiri trail. I put on an extra layer and my wind breaker top and bottom, left the mountain huts and got onto the Subashiri trail. The wind had started to pick up a little but the temperature was still relatively good.
I had expected to see some people on the Subashiri trail but it was completely desserted when I joined. The Subashiri trail at this point and for the next 1.5km or so is very steep and the going was much harder that I could remember so I found myself stopping to catch my breath every now and again. The sky was perfectly clear and with no moon the stars were really easy to see. Several times I stopped and switched off my light and focused my attention on a particular part of the sky to see if I could catch a shooting star and as on other recent trips I didn't have to wait for too long to see one.
As I continued on up I met a lone climber coming back down the Subashiri trail and not long after I could make out the lights of a small group ahead of me. I caught up with them and tagged along at their pace before leaving them behind when they stopped to rest and continued to the final bend on the Subashiri route to the summit. This bend is recognizable even in the dark because it has a huge rock right next to it. From there it's just a short 200m or so to the summit area. I stopped here to put on my remaining layers and looked out for more shooting stars. The time was about 03:20 so I was going to make it to the summit area in time for the sunrise.
The main shops on the summit were all open and there was a large group of people outside one of them with many people already seated on the wooden benches waiting for the sunrise which would not be for another 50 minutes or so. I decided to continue anti-clockwise around the summit and head for the weather station. As I left the main summit area on the east side and made my way around the crater I could make out climber's headlights nearing the weather station. The walk to the weather station is a little over 1km on an undulating trail which in parts is quite steep but by about 04:15 I was just below the weather station.
There were people already up outside the weather station viewing area so I decided to stay put and waited just on the crater edge to catch the sunrise. There was cloud far down away on the horizon created 3 very distinct layers. A large empty blue stretching upwards, a thin strip of red/yellow and then the darker cloud layer below. My view was framed nicely by 2 small peaks on the east side where most people gather and around 04:45 a dull red sun slowly emerged from the clouds and not soon after the whole summit was bathed in warm sunshine. I packed up and retraced my steps back the way I had come. On the way I stopped to see the Mt. Fuji shadow. Like the sunrise the shadow too comes out differently depending on the weather conditions and on this day it wasn't as sharp and dark as it can be but it still looked impressive.
I then headed all the way back to the main area where most of the climbers were resting before heading down again. I found a spot, removed all my excess layers and ate the pasta I had prepared for myself and had intended to eat yesterday before setting out from the 5th Station. Rested as rested as I could be I then headed for the descending trail which is also the ascending/descending Subashiri trail I had come up an hour or so earlier. It was getting hot and I was not looking forward to the hike down. The same parts which make the climb up hardgoing make it just as tough when you go down. The main risk is just tumbling over but when you feel tired it seems like an endless slog. I stopped a few more times than I generally do but I made it back to the 5th Station just before 9 o'clock.
I had about 30 minutes to clean myself up before the first bus departed down towards Kawaguchiko and Fujisan Station. The 5th Station was crowded already with day visitors and the weather was glorious. On another day I would have spent more time there but today I just wanted to come home and sleep. After getting off at Fujisan Station I got on the first of many trains to make my way home. It took almost as long to get home as it had done to climb to the summit but another trip to Mt. Fuji was over.