Mostly Japanese Mountains: My man crater, Mt Fuji.

So pumped to make it to Fuji the other day with my son. This trip is something I've been looking forward to for two years. In 2019, some friends and I had an attempt at Fuji thwarted by weather at the 7th Station. Last year, I couldn't get my revenge on the mountain because it was closed down by COVID.

This year, I was diagnosed with cancer and I was absolutely determined to do Fuji during this season no matter what. (Thankfully, my cancer was taken care of with a couple surgeries. Yay!)

Fuji, having its reputation for being Fuji, made it difficult to find a climbing partner. They do say, "A wise man climbs Fuji once, a fool climbs it twice. "

I don't blame my friends. I swore that I would never do it again after my first ascent about 25 years ago. On that trip, I was beyond miserable. I had a headache, muscle aches, heartache. It was awful.

It was to be expected. I was smoking 2 packs of Marlboros a day. Exercise was walking to McDonald's.

Anyway, my 15-year-old son stepped up to the bat and said he'd come with me. What a gift. Thankfully, he's a jock and I didn't have concerns about his physical condition.

I took something like 360 pictures up there. It's so beautiful and is really difficult to pare down to the best so this post is picture-heavy. I hope they aren't boring for the reader. I always say less is more, but I am kind of like Polonius. (He's the guy who said, "as brevity is soul of wit, I shall be brief"--and then proceeded to talk until the audience nearly fell asleep.)

7:00am August 1

Pointing at Fuji from home. (Really)

Remember that stick. It's important later.

This picture is the Fifth Station of the Subaru Line. All the trails waystations are numbered. Most people start hiking at the 5th Stations. Most of the trails have 8 stations before the top. One has 9. This is a very busy place. The Subaru Line is the most popular trail and this place can accommodate more tourists than you can imagine. The higher stations are nothing like this. Usually not much more than a shack chained to the mountain with rocks on top to keep the roof from blowing away.

The suggestion is to hang out here to get a bit acclimated to the elevation before proceeding. We left here at 11:30. It was suggested we get to our lodgings at the 8th Station by 4 or 5 and we were told it should take 4 or 5 hours to get there. (We made it there by 2.)

The route:

The weather was kind of unsettled on the way up on the first day so I didn't get too many good pictures. If the clouds opened up for even a second I whipped out my iphone.

This is where we stayed, the Taishikan. ("kan" means something like hall. "Taishi" was the name of an emperor or prince that was said to have rested his horse at this spot on his way up Mt Fuji in ancient times. If I were the horse and I had seen what was coming next, I would just have refused to go on.)

Interestingly, at 3,100 meters, it is already higher than the second-highest mountain in Japan which is a mere 3, 050 meters in elevation.

These mountain lodges are places where people rest for a while before making the assault on the summit for the sunrise.

Here are some pics of the interior. (Make sure not to miss my videos of the restrooms. Those are a hoot.)

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZSYvfcSELaW9j9O5UndwsKhiEowJqW9g

In the past, everyone slept in a huge room. Now because of COVID, it's kind of like a rustic capsule hotel. I banged my head every time I got up.

A traditional irori. I read somewhere that the Taishikan is still using a pot from the 17th or 18th century.

Remember the stick from the first picture? You don't? Then maybe you have CRS or ADHD or, you might be POTUS.

Anyway, the walking sticks are a great money-making scam for the tourist businesses. As you go by the different lodges, they will brand them for you with that place's particular stamp for ¥500. Here I am getting mine branded by one of the staff at the Taishikan. (I say it's a scam, but I like having the stamp.)

Make sure you check out the video and its explanation, too!

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZSYvfcSELaW9j9O5UndwsKhiEowJqW9g

After dinner (curry, at 4pm), we tried to rest. I was able to get an hour's worth of sleep I guess. My poor son, who hasn't had the chance to develop the skills I did in the military didn't get any sleep.

We got up around 1am and headed off for the top. It was a little earlier than necessary, but we had nothing else to do.

We got to the top around 3:30. There was no one there. Pitch black. We had nothing to do but pick our spot to wait for the sunrise.

Seeing how Tokyo is in the 90s these days, the top was a bit cold for us at about 3 C (38 F). It was worth it. What a show. I am also glad we were able to pick our spot. By the time the sun came up, it was nearly standing room only.

Again, make sure to check out the video. Hear authentic Japanese people really say "Banzai!"

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZSYvfcSELaW9j9O5UndwsKhiEowJqW9g

After shivering for nearly two hours waiting for the sunrise, we were ready to move within about a minute of the appearance of that sublime disc. Then we took a walk around the caldera.