Introduction

Mt. Fuji on the southwestern horizon as seen from Omiya in mid afternoon during August. Note the high level of cloud cover 6 hours after a Typhoon has passed through. Also the lack of snow at the summit.

The archipelago of Japan is extremely mountainous and Mt. Fuji, as it's tallest mountain, can be seen from many of the surrounding prefectures on the main island of Honshu. Fuji San, as it is respectfully called by the Japanese, is easily visible on flights into Tokyo's domestic Haneda and more distant Narita international airports when approaching from the west. It  can also be seen towering majestically above the horizon when approaching the port of Tokyo by sea from the south.

On a relatively rare clear summer day in central Tokyo, Mt. Fuji can be seen lying on the distant horizon to the southwest. From about October onwards, the hint of impending winter is in the air and the sky is noticeably absent of cloud, particularly on a moderately windy autumnal day. After mid-October Mt. Fuji can often be seen topped with a pristine sprinkling of fresh overnight snow close to it’s summit, which gradually expands elegantly downwards as the new year progresses and remains defiantly in place until well through Japan's rainy season in May and June of the following year.

Fortunately, the mountain is not, or only a little at the beginning of July, snow covered during the summer climbing season, thus providing a perfect opportunity to trek up Japan’s most famous mountain, above the blanketing layers of early dawn mist lying in the valleys of the much smaller mountains below, and rest in quiet anticipation of catching a glimpse of a Japanese style sunrise, complete with a crown of multiple sunrays on the eastern horizon.

Depending upon the phase of the Moon not being so strong as to flood out the view of the night sky it is possible to have the jet black darkness of Space and millions of twinkling stars above ones head whilst looking towards the eastern horizon as it gradually warms in announcement of the approaching day.

The coast of Japan, and a hint as to the vastness of the Pacific Ocean beyond the horizon, as it stretches out virtually unobstructed for several thousand miles in the direction of The Americas, is clearly visible as the Sun finally arrives and appears to arc heavenwards on its timeless journey across our planet's sky. Considering this same scene has been repeated daily, exactly on cue, for millions of years it has always been a surprise to me how few people, especially city dwellers, have ever taken time out to sit properly and observe the natural beauty of a sunrise or know just how many stars there really are in the sky above their heads. A climb of Fuji gives you the opportunity to briefly escape the exceptional hustle and bustle of life down on the crowded Kanto plain to experience this firsthand and also provides you with an interesting conversational ice breaker about something many Japanese have wished to do at least once in their lives, which is to have climbed Fuji !

For the more adventurous trekker, a hike out of season on a carefully chosen blustery and cloudless day in the Autumn would yield some impressive photos both of and from the summit.

The sky color at this time of year is a beautiful deep blue and a polarized filter on your camera will provide a dramatically contrasting background to your photos. If you are close by to Fuji on such a day you will instantly recognize the perfect conditions for such a late season climb, providing you are armed with slightly more warm clothing than in the summer, but not so much as to be overloaded with professional winter apparel.

If you contemplate a climb at this time of year be careful not to get lulled into a false sense of security without checking the weather forecast in detail first. If the weather changes to high winds and you have no tent or appropriate warm and waterproof clothing you will probably die from exposure. Remember, it is absolutely vital to keep an eye on the weather at all times, even on a summer climb when Typhoons spawned in the warmer waters off of Micronesia and the Philippines start their destructive journeys northwards.

During the summer climbing season of July and August rest huts open up continuously at various altitudes on the mountain trail to ease the exertion of your climb. If you become exhausted or ill it is relatively easy to find sympathetic shelter and hot food at one of these rest stations.

Outside of these dates the mountain is ‘closed’. If you would like to climb during this time you are asked to register your trek with the local Police station for safety purposes. The main Police Station is in the local town but there is a Koban [Police Box] at the 5th station halfway up the mountain. The Police Officer I spoke to there, after I returned down the mountain in complete darkness with several people in tow last year, spoke excellent English, a rarity in most parts of Japan even today.

The 5th Station is a collection of permanent concrete buildings with a gift shop, toilets, food, snacks, police office, car parking, bus and taxi rank roughly half way up the mountain. It has a good toll road up to it and is open practically all year round, even with snow on the ground. In the early climbing season you may wish to take along a set of clip on crampons for walking.

Incidentally, the area around Fuji is noted for its natural beauty. There is a large amusement and roller coaster park as well as fishing, boating and camping opportunities around the five nearby lakes. Consequently, there is a healthy and friendly tourist industry in the area which is well used to accommodating the visiting foreigner. The Fujikyu amusement park is reputed to have the fastest and highest roller coaster in the World and the train line back to Tokyo stops right outside of it [second stop from the end of the line]. It is also located right next to the exit of the expressway coming from Tokyo.

The forest at the base of Mt. Fuji is also infamous in Japan for disappearing people. Every so often the local Police arrange expeditions in to it to find the bodies of the current year’s suicide cases and murder victims that went in there but never came out again!