I arrived at
Mount Fuji's "Fifth Station", the starting point for the trek to the 3776m summit for most Japanese and foreign tourists, on a bit of a whim. I took the bus from the smallish town of Kawaguchiko, from where I had planned to run around the lake and enjoy the view of the distant volcano. Having briefly spoken to an Australian backpacker who had just returned from the mountain, however, I was encouraged to go for the climb, despite my lack of suitable equipment.
The opening section of the trek is flat, and Lake Kawaguchi is visible as part of the impressive view into the valley. After this, the track starts making progress upwards, alternating between gravelly zigzags - hard work without proper hiking boots - and steeper rocky sections which can be climbed or stepped upon. These I chose to scamper up, enjoying the physical challenge.
As the track reached the final stage before the summit, the zigzags became shorter and a chilly wind pushed clouds up the volcanic rock of the mountain side. My running shoes and thin jumper performed the necessary function and I made it to the summit. Here, I looked down into the crater, ate some of the supplies I had brought along from 7-eleven, and took a photo or two.
The descent is on a separate track - a monotonous gravelly zigzag which can be run or skipped (seriously) along in places. The gravel changes colour from black to red and finally brown, before levelling out into a comfortable stroll back to the fifth station.
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| 7-eleven, road workers, Mount Fuji |
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| Summit |
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| Kawaguchiko |
