Mt. Fuji: Sacred, Accessible and Diverse
It was during the year of 1962, before I was even born, in which my father was stationed in Japan for the U.S. Marine Corps at the base of Mt Fuji. During his weekend leave, he and fellow soldiers ascended the mountain and stayed the night to see the sunrise the following morning with other Japanese hikers. It was an enriching cultural experience between Americans and the Japanese that was in stark contrast to the recent painful memories of World War II. This past summer I wanted to retrace my father’s footsteps, so I headed for Mt. Fuji in August.
In the past, and still today, Mt. Fuji was considered a sacred mountain and some believe that the first person to climb to its summit was a monk in the 7th century. It was not until the late 1800s when the first westerner was allowed to climb up the peak. Throughout Japanese history “Fuji-san” was revered and put into poems and many artworks like that of Katsushika Hokusai, who painted the “36 Views of Mt. Fuji,” and whose painting “Great Wave of Kanagawa” is the most well-known Japanese painting in the west.
Today Mt. Fuji is now a UNESCO World Heritage Cultural Site and a destination for hundreds of thousands of hikers every year. Any tourist wanting to hike Mt. Fuji only has an eight-week window – that being July and August. Experienced climbers with a permit are allowed on the mountain during the off season. Because of this, large crowds of tourists and hikers congest the Fuji area for two months. Although disappointing to those hoping for a more solemn experience with nature (not nearly as bad as Mt. Everest where hikers cram together like Americans waiting in line for iPhones, leaving behind tons of trash) it is a great opportunity to meet people from all over the world. I was able to talk with many Japanese people and even met a tourist from Europe.
Participants can choose various paths up the mountain. Each offers different terrain challenges, photo opportunities and distances to the top. The Kawaguchi Route is the most popular while the Gotemba Trail offers a more gradual seven to nine hour approrail is similar to Gwangju’s Mudeung-san, which I would recommend hiking several times as preparation for Mt. Fuji.ach to the top. Additionally, each trail has rest stations where you can eat, sleep, buy canned oxygen or use Wi-Fi. Even though it was steeper at points, I chose the Fujinomiya Trail because it was the least crowded and the closest trail from a Shinkansen station. Surprisingly at the lower elevations, this trail is similar to Gwangju’s Mudeung-san, which I would recommend hiking several times as preparation for Mt. Fuji.
Even if tourist friendly, hiking Mt. Fuji is not without risk, since it is usually covered in snow at the top and sharp, and jagged lava rocks are constant reminders of a volatile past. Fuji is considered a dormant volcano that erupted as recently as the 18th century, with its lingering volcanic fumes only just disappearing in the 1950s. Some even speculate that since the 2011 great Tohoku 9.0 Earthquake, Mt. Fuji may erupt again within the next five years.
In addition, fatigue, exhaustion and altitude sickness are common for climbers. Last year alone 25 people died on the mountain for various health problems exposed by the rigors of hiking. I was fortunate to arrive on a cooler, cloudier day when rain at the lower elevations kept air moisture optimal for strenuous climbing. I was able to ascend the summit and circle the two crater rims in five hours and descend in three and a half. For most travelers though this is not practical and could lead to migraine headaches or even death because of the altitude change and thin air. Typically 11-15 hour time frames are more realistic. On a typical hot August day, I would have drunk more water (a minimum of 4 liters) and taken more time to rest.
Although the weather was favorable for hiking, it was a hindrance for sightseeing. At the lower elevations where the mountain is greener, a thick bank of misty fog wafted over the mountainside through the brush, making it resemble Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa. At the higher elevations, as the wind shifted, massive clouds would come over the peak, first in ghost-like strands of cirrus-type clouds stretching forward like a giant spirit. One Japanese woman gasped; in a bit of fear maybe, as she witnessed the approaching wisps of clouds in the sky, and began clapping her hands in a slow, deliberately-paced manner: a Shinto practice for attracting the attention of the gods. Watching the blue sky give way to these clouds was perhaps better than any photograph I may have been able to take of the Tokyo skyline.
From a distance Fuji is a beautifully-shaped and conical mountain volcano, with a diversity of experiences that require at least two trips to fully enjoy. Given that climbing the mountain is restricted to a few weeks during the summer, hotel stays on picturesque lakes nearby are open year-round and offer the more traditional views that many westerners are familiar with from postcards. I consider my first trip an introduction and plan on returning to this sacred mountain again next year.