20 ~ 21 July, 2015
#28
Yoshida (5th Station) >> Summit >> Yoshida (5th Station)
[Beautiful Sunrise]
#28
Yoshida (5th Station) >> Summit >> Yoshida (5th Station)
[Beautiful Sunrise]
The timing of this trip to Mt. Fuji was designed to coincide with the anniversary of the date I had first come to Japan, 21 July, 1991. For some reason 21 July had taken on a special significance because I had left Japan 21 July, 1993 and then returned to Japan 21 July, 2007. For me, July 21 was my Japan Day and Mt. Fuji was maybe the only place I would have liked to have been on this day. I'd been checking the weather forecast and conditions looked perfect for a sunrise although a few light showers were also being forecast overnight.
I may well made another earlier visit to Mt. Fuji but that had had to be ruled out after I was hospitalized again with my third pulmonary embolism the previous month. Thankfully it was not as serious as the previous two cases and only went to reinforce my wish to go to Mt. Fuji again. The evening before I threw a few things together and this time decided I would head up at a relatively slow pace and try to time it as close to sunrise as possible. I deliberately left my sleeping mat, sleeping bag and home made bivy bag behind.
The journey to Fujisan Station was largely uneventful. I arrived much earlier than I really needed to so I spent the next few hours just getting myself something to eat and buying a few things I needed to buy. I still needed to buy some extra batteries and the usual place where I bought them was the 100 yen store which was on the 5th floor of Fujisan Station building. The store however was out of stock so I ended up going for a short walk and about 15 minutes walk away I found a large supermarket which had a much larger 100 yen above. I picked up extra batteries and got plenty of snacks.
It was a solo trip but a friend Alain had told me that he too would climbing Fuji overnight with a friend. Alain was scheduled to arrive around 6 o'clock on a direct bus from Shinjuku and it was going to be his first climb. I arrived at the 5th Station just before 6 o'clock on a local bus and almost immediately bumped into Alain and his friend Marian, who had just arrived in Japan from the US. They had arrived directly from a sweltering Tokyo and were still dressed lightly so I encouraged them to dress a little more warmly. The pair of them seemed full of that first time exuberance which everyone seems to feel when they come to Fuji and although I was not really planning to guide them or walk with them, it was nice to have some company.
We got something to eat in the new restaurant area and as we waited the sunset sky took on a beautifully ominous look. Huge thunder clouds seemed to be forming some distance away from Fuji and as it got darker it was easy to make out bright flashes of lightening inside the cloud mass. The forecast on Fuji overnight was for light rain showers so as long as the storm clouds kept away things were expected to remain fine. We decided to set out together and it was 21:30 when we headed onto the Yoshida trail. The cost this year was also 1,000 yen and in return we received a badge with a new Hokusai design. Last year it was the famous and easily recognizable wave design and this year it was Mt. Fuji reflected in Lake Kawaguchi.
Weather conditions were very good and once we got passed the 6th Station conditions seemed to be perfect. I was not sure of my own physical condition because of the pulmonary embolism I had suffered last month. I had also completed the 1200km Shikoku Pilgrimage for a second time in April and that had resulted in a femoral nerve problem which had taken nearly 2 months to recover from. Sunrise was at 04:46 so there was plenty of time to get to the top without any need to rush. The other good news was that there were not as many climbers on the mountain because the following day was a work day.
The 3 of us continued on at our own pace and with plenty of time to get to the top there was no real rush. The weather conditions were great and the sky perfectly clear. We took a several short rest breaks outside the rest huts as we continued up. At one of the rest huts we stopped for an extended break and got chatting to a couple visiting from Qatar. When we all got moving again at the next huts just a short hike further up I suggested we could detour to the Subashiri trail to avoid those making their way up the Yoshida trail. I spotted Jo and ... , and told them the plan and they decided to join us on the Subashiri trail too.
The Subashiri ascending trail which is also the descending trail from the summit is quite steep and I found the going surprising hard. The others remained ahead of me and we all arrived on the summit with about 30 minutes before sunrise. We all ended up taking up a position just to the right of the main buildings and then we waited. The sunrise turned out to be great. A beautiful red sun emerged up between the clouds and the everything looked really great as it slowly got higher.
With the sun up I suggested they should all walk around the summit and see the Fuji shadow. I was not too far behind when I joined Alain and Marian at the spot where you can see the shadow. I didn't want to do a full circuit of the summit so I headed back to the main buildings and told Alain I'd meet them there. It was starting to get nice and warm by the time I got back to the main viewing area. About 40 or 50 minutes later all four were back again. It had been really nice to find company on Fuji and particularly nice to meet Alain on Fuji too. I decided to set off back down and with tentative hopes of meeting them again back at the 5th Station I said my goodbyes and headed on down.
It was a beautifully sunny and chilly descent. The descending route was not particularly busy with many people already having gone down.
I may well made another earlier visit to Mt. Fuji but that had had to be ruled out after I was hospitalized again with my third pulmonary embolism the previous month. Thankfully it was not as serious as the previous two cases and only went to reinforce my wish to go to Mt. Fuji again. The evening before I threw a few things together and this time decided I would head up at a relatively slow pace and try to time it as close to sunrise as possible. I deliberately left my sleeping mat, sleeping bag and home made bivy bag behind.
The journey to Fujisan Station was largely uneventful. I arrived much earlier than I really needed to so I spent the next few hours just getting myself something to eat and buying a few things I needed to buy. I still needed to buy some extra batteries and the usual place where I bought them was the 100 yen store which was on the 5th floor of Fujisan Station building. The store however was out of stock so I ended up going for a short walk and about 15 minutes walk away I found a large supermarket which had a much larger 100 yen above. I picked up extra batteries and got plenty of snacks.
It was a solo trip but a friend Alain had told me that he too would climbing Fuji overnight with a friend. Alain was scheduled to arrive around 6 o'clock on a direct bus from Shinjuku and it was going to be his first climb. I arrived at the 5th Station just before 6 o'clock on a local bus and almost immediately bumped into Alain and his friend Marian, who had just arrived in Japan from the US. They had arrived directly from a sweltering Tokyo and were still dressed lightly so I encouraged them to dress a little more warmly. The pair of them seemed full of that first time exuberance which everyone seems to feel when they come to Fuji and although I was not really planning to guide them or walk with them, it was nice to have some company.
We got something to eat in the new restaurant area and as we waited the sunset sky took on a beautifully ominous look. Huge thunder clouds seemed to be forming some distance away from Fuji and as it got darker it was easy to make out bright flashes of lightening inside the cloud mass. The forecast on Fuji overnight was for light rain showers so as long as the storm clouds kept away things were expected to remain fine. We decided to set out together and it was 21:30 when we headed onto the Yoshida trail. The cost this year was also 1,000 yen and in return we received a badge with a new Hokusai design. Last year it was the famous and easily recognizable wave design and this year it was Mt. Fuji reflected in Lake Kawaguchi.
Weather conditions were very good and once we got passed the 6th Station conditions seemed to be perfect. I was not sure of my own physical condition because of the pulmonary embolism I had suffered last month. I had also completed the 1200km Shikoku Pilgrimage for a second time in April and that had resulted in a femoral nerve problem which had taken nearly 2 months to recover from. Sunrise was at 04:46 so there was plenty of time to get to the top without any need to rush. The other good news was that there were not as many climbers on the mountain because the following day was a work day.
The 3 of us continued on at our own pace and with plenty of time to get to the top there was no real rush. The weather conditions were great and the sky perfectly clear. We took a several short rest breaks outside the rest huts as we continued up. At one of the rest huts we stopped for an extended break and got chatting to a couple visiting from Qatar. When we all got moving again at the next huts just a short hike further up I suggested we could detour to the Subashiri trail to avoid those making their way up the Yoshida trail. I spotted Jo and ... , and told them the plan and they decided to join us on the Subashiri trail too.
The Subashiri ascending trail which is also the descending trail from the summit is quite steep and I found the going surprising hard. The others remained ahead of me and we all arrived on the summit with about 30 minutes before sunrise. We all ended up taking up a position just to the right of the main buildings and then we waited. The sunrise turned out to be great. A beautiful red sun emerged up between the clouds and the everything looked really great as it slowly got higher.
With the sun up I suggested they should all walk around the summit and see the Fuji shadow. I was not too far behind when I joined Alain and Marian at the spot where you can see the shadow. I didn't want to do a full circuit of the summit so I headed back to the main buildings and told Alain I'd meet them there. It was starting to get nice and warm by the time I got back to the main viewing area. About 40 or 50 minutes later all four were back again. It had been really nice to find company on Fuji and particularly nice to meet Alain on Fuji too. I decided to set off back down and with tentative hopes of meeting them again back at the 5th Station I said my goodbyes and headed on down.
It was a beautifully sunny and chilly descent. The descending route was not particularly busy with many people already having gone down.