Travels in the Far East - Mount Fuji 2013 (Day 6)

We were off to Mount Fuji for Dan, my dad and my sister to attempt to reach the summit at sunrise, while my Mom and I explored the base town due to my knee still recovering from Surgery. We arrived late due to having to take a bus from the train, and so my dad, sister and Dan were off to the mountain straight off the bus while my mom and I headed across the street to our Japanese style hostel for the night with everyone's clothes.

Fuji the following morning from the 5th station.

Our hikers had made reservations to stay in one of the mountain sleeping huts for a few hours before they began their trek up Fuji in an attempt to reach the summit at sunrise. They unfortunately missed the 6th station where they were supposed to rest their heads and instead found themselves at 7th station and looking for a place to sleep. They were able to secure three sleeping places around 8pm, grab some grub and head off to their spots for a few hours sleep. Apparently the sleeping situation is just a giant room with three bunk levels, but no separation from the people next to you and since Dan is 6'7" getting him to fit was apparently quite the sight.

They got up a few hours later to head for the summit. They told us it was a crazy sight with the path to the summit illuminated by everyone's headlamps. The temperatures also dropped significantly overnight and Dan ended up buying gloves and a hat from a Buddhist's stand on the mountainside. (He may have been a little unprepared). They reached the summit just before sunrise and were able to capture some stunning photographs.

Dan at the summit

Sunrise

Early morning on the summit

Meanwhile, my mom and I explored the town and took a long walk, although we quickly found out that nothing was open. It seemed to be that where we were staying was more of a ski town and therefore the summer was pretty dead. We were able to get dinner next store and find some cool treats at the 7-11 (I got green tea kit kats and cheddar mayo flavored pringles). We then headed back to our room to knock out some laundry for our hubbies and hit the sack.

Early the next morning we took the bus to the 5th Station to catch a glimpse of what it was like on the mountain. We also woke up to a stunning view of Fuji not clouded in at all (a rare occurrence in the summer).

We then met up with our weary hikers who showered at the hostel before we headed off by bus to our next stop, Nagano.