Mt. Fuji—considered a sacred symbol of Japan—has long been a fascination of mine. To be able to summit the mountain, therefore, will forever be an event to cherish.
The Japanese have long endured the naturally beautiful and culturally rich mountain. It was even the focus of attention in Japanese woodblock print artist Hokusai’s 36 Views of Mt. Fuji, dating back to the 1830s.
It is said that monks first began to climb Mt. Fuji for worship with the Dainichi Temple being built at the summit in the early 12th century. But it wasn’t until the late 16th century that the general public began worshiping and climbing the slopes of Mt. Fuji. As sacred as Mt. Fuji is to the Japanese, climbing the tallest mountain in Japan has somehow become a large tourist attraction in present times. Moreover, climbing to the summit in time to see the sunrise is now something of a bucket-list item for many locals and foreigners-alike.
How to Climb Mt. Fuji
There are a few notes to consider when climbing Mt. Fuji. The following is a quick breakdown:
- The peak of Mt. Fuji sits at 3776m above sea level.
- There are four main trails to the summit of Mt. Fuji: Yoshida, Fujinomiya, Subashiri, and Gotemba.
- On each of these trails, Stations are built along the trail at various levels for you to rest and stay overnight in, or simply take a break in.
- On each of these trails, the 5th Station is the highest you can go with a vehicle or public transportation, therefore the popular thing to do is to start the climb from the 5th Station.
- There are routes that start at 0m (from the Pacific Ocean) all the way to the summit!
- Generally speaking the two most popular ways to climb Mt. Fuji are:
- Climb to the summit (and back) in one day.
- You can start early in the morning from the 5th Station and return in the afternoon.
- If you start in the evening to reach the summit in time for sunrise the next day, this is nicknamed Bullet Climbing.
- Climb to the summit in two days by staying overnight in a mountain lodge and reaching the summit the next morning.
Bullet climbing
Bullet climbing—as the name suggests—is when a climber starts in the late evening to climb up to the summit in time to see the sunrise the next morning. This is not only dangerous as you are climbing in the dark, but it is also strenuous to the body as you are not leaving time for your body to acclimatize to the high altitude.
Despite calls to stop bullet climbing, it became so popular that many people started doing it only to fail, requiring assistance at the top of the mountain to bring them back down safely. This uses up precious resources and manpower that may have been needed elsewhere on the mountain.
Please do not bullet climb Mt. Fuji!
Popularity of Climbing Mt. Fuji
Over the last few years, climbing Mt. Fuji has become a victim of its own popularity. With so many tourists flocking to the mountain, it seems as though some foreigners are led to believe it can be easily climbed. Several climbers come unprepared, attempting to climb the mountain in jeans, shorts, t-shirts, sandals, skirts (yes, skirts!), and with one tourist even bringing his suitcase for the hike (?!) in the 2024 climbing season.
The trail and summit have become so popular that garbage is seen strewn across the mountainside, people hike off the marked pathways, and more people need medical attention because they were unprepared. All this took so much of the local resources that as of the 2024 climbing season (July – September 2024) the organizers of the most popular trailhead—Yoshida—had to take matters into their own hands by implementing certain regulations:
- A reservation at one of the mountain lodges is now required to climb up Mt. Fuji in two days.
- A gate was installed at the entrance of the Yoshida trail head. The gate closes promptly at 4pm. No hikers are allowed up the trail after 4pm, unless you have a reservation at a lodge.
- A maximum of 4000 hikers is allowed through the gate on any given day. If you have a lodge reservation however, you are still allowed to go up even if the number of hikers is above 4000.
- A fee of 2000 yen is required to hike up the Yoshida Trail and must be paid before crossing the gate. The fee goes towards emergency rescues, maintenance of the trail, etc.
- The optional donation of 1000 yen (that was present in previous years) is still being accepted.
- You cannot drive your car to the 5th Station any more. You need to take a bus to the 5th Station.
*The above rules applied for the 2024 climbing season. Future climbing seasons may see these rules changed so please make sure you do your due diligence.
My Experience Climbing Mt. Fuji in August 2024
| Suggested | Actual | |
|---|---|---|
| 5th Station to 8th Station | 4-4.5 hours | 6.5 hours |
| 8th Station to Summit | 3 hours | 3 hours |
| Summit Loop | 1.5 hours | 3 hours (including ~30min. line up to peak) |
| Descent | 3 hours | 5.5 hours* |
I had the best time climbing Mt. Fuji even though I was affected by altitude sickness.
The 1-hour bus ride up to the Fuji-Subaru line 5th Station was enjoyable as we got to take in the scenery of the mountainside. Once we reached 5th Station, I found it to be crowded, but not overly crowded to the point where moving around was difficult.
The Fuji-Subaru line 5th Station sits at an elevation of 2300m above sea level. This is the typical starting point for the Yoshida trailhead. What I found particularly interesting here is that the people are a mix of those who had just descended the mountain, and those that are just starting their ascent. It was obvious which ones were the ones who just came down the mountain as they showed signs of exhaustion, tiredness, and were overall just beat—which is more than likely how I looked like the next day! It’s also worth mentioning that there are tourists who visit the 5th Station as a destination unto itself. With restaurants, shopping, a shrine, and potential views of the mountain, it’s certainly a worthwhile place to visit.
We paid ¥3000 each to support Yamanashi prefecture in their maintenance of the trail. If you donate the extra ¥1000, you get the wooden charm displaying the year. You can then stamp the other side with the current date. In our case, it just happened to be Mountain Day, August 12, 2024.
There are staff members at the entrance gate to the trail making sure that you paid your ¥2000 entrance fee—evident by the coloured bracelet you get. The guards will also question those that appear to be under prepared for the trek up, making sure everyone is aware of the dangers of climbing unprepared.
There were only two attendants at the gate trying to check everyone going through, making for a busy gate. Just ahead of me, there was a tourist wearing sandals. I sincerely hope they were not expecting to climb to the summit dressed like that. But if they weren’t, where were they expecting to hike to?
The clouds were thick when we started our climb. We could see the nearby flora but anything beyond that it was pure white. These horses are also available for those that do not wish to climb down. Somewhere between the 6th Station and 5th Station, there are a group of people waiting by the side of the trail, willing to take people down on their horses for a fee.
Camera Gear
- Nikon Z 8
- Nikon Z 24-120mm f/4 S
- Peak Design Capture Clip
- F-Stop Ajna hiking bag
- Sennheiser MKE 400 microphone with wind muffler
The first half of the hike from the 5th Station to the 6th Station is relatively flat. The second half of the hike presents uneven grounds and more elevation gain.
This is the point between the 5th Station and the 6th Station where the hike gets steeper and tougher. 
Looking up, you’ll see the mountain lodges lined up along the trail. They look closer than you think as there are a number of switchbacks you have to walk through to get there. 
There are a lot of switchbacks. 
Getting ever so close to the mountain lodges. 
I loved the illustrations for the bathroom sign! 
At one point the clouds did clear, bringing with it some beautiful blue skies.
It isn’t until you reach the 6th Station that you really feel like you’re hiking up a mountain. With uneven grounds, sharp rocks beneath, and a more open mountainside, this is what the rest of the hike up will look like.
Around the 3000m mark is when I started losing breath a lot faster. Somewhere between the 7th Station and 8th Station I started to realize that I got tired much faster than I did just a few minutes ago. This change was very noticeable as soon as it happened. I did not take any altitude sickness prevention pills as I did not know how much it would have affected me. All I had to do was pace myself and I was fine. It did, however, take more time to go up because of this.
I have to admit I was pretty exhausted by the time I arrived at the 8th Station lodge—Gansomuro, situated at 3250m above sea level. We arrive shortly before 6:00pm.
We went to our assigned beds only to find out many of the people in that section had already arrived and were already fast asleep! Dinner was served for us at 7pm. It was curry rice with a couple of dumplings. They also gave us our breakfast for the next day which we could eat on-the-go. The curry hit the spot!
This piece of paper they gave us reminds us that sunrise is at 4:50am and the wake-up call is at 1:40am.
We slept at around 8pm. Our beds were directly above the bathrooms below. To enter and exit the bathrooms, the door had to be slid open and closed. The sound of the door constantly opening and closing (from staff members and other hikers I would assume) kept me awake for a good part of the night. I didn’t really get a good sleep—especially since I had a constant throbbing headache because of altitude sickness. The Tylenol I took did do a good job of diminishing the pain though.
By about 12:30am, I had enough of the opening and closing of the doors and couldn’t sleep any more. I also had to go to the bathroom—perhaps influenced by the sound of the doors! I was also hearing large groups of people walking past our hut and going up. Afraid that I would get caught within a long line of hikers to the summit, I woke up my partner around 1:00am and we started to get ready while most others were still sleeping.
We left the lodge around 1:30am and sure enough there was already a long line of hikers heading up.
This was expected though. The hike from the 8th Station to the summit would be a slow-paced hike as we were pretty much following the hiker in front of us. This worked out though as I was still affected by altitude sickness and couldn’t exert myself too much.
August 12-13 happened to be the peak of the Perseids meteor shower. Sure enough, as we were climbing up from the 8th Station, we saw several meteors fall in the night sky. It was quite the sight to be climbing Mt. Fuji and looking out for meteors! I did not get any photos of meteors as it would have been impossible to time it as I climbed.
We arrived at the summit of Mt. Fuji around 4:30am—just in time to see the sunrise! It was crowded with people already claiming their spot at the edge to watch the sunrise. We took a brief walk around the area to find a restaurant and even souvenir shops filled with people!
Shortly before sunrise we managed to grab a small section by the edge thanks to a group that let us in. As it was cloudy right at the horizon, we saw the sun rise above the clouds shortly after sunrise.
It was a wonderful way to start this beautiful day!
Even with the sun shining on us, it was fairly cold at the summit. We tucked into the restaurant to buy a small bowl of warm miso soup for ¥1000 each. It was probably the most expensive miso soup we’ve ever bought but it felt so good and warmed us up immediately.
Ohatchi-Meguri Trail
A little known fact is that the peak of Mt. Fuji is not actually the area you just climbed to. The 3776m point is situated on the other side of the crater.
Ohatchi-meguri trail refers to the loop trail following the ridge of the crater. This supposedly takes about 90min. to hike, but it took us about three hours instead—including about a 30min. wait to hike to the 3776m point, seen in the photo below.
I was fine eating the miso soup and shortly thereafter but it was at the point where we left to hike the ohatchi-meguri trail that I felt the most nauseous. The altitude sickness must have hit me a second time so I had to rest after taking only a few steps. Fortunately, since we were moving slowly, by the time we arrived to that location the line up had diminished quite a bit.
We finally reached the very top of Mt. Fuji!
Note, I did edit the image to remove my partner out of it since she didn’t want to be shown. 🙂
This section is known as the “horse’s back” because of how steep the descent is. It was so steep that the majority of people had to climb slowly while holding on to the rocks or railing.
This altitude sickness really got to me by the end of the hatchi-meguri. I packed my camera away because it was getting dusty from the wind. As it turns out I barely took any photos of the descent!
I do remember that I noticed the moment my altitude sickness went away. My headache went away, I wasn’t feeling nauseous and since I was breathing properly I was able to pretty much run down the trail.
We made it!
After resting, eating charcoal ice cream, and cleaning up, we took the bus back to town. The bus was so crowded we had to stand up all the way down…but it was great to be back after a long two days of hiking!
YouTube
You can watch my YouTube video on this blog post where I explain everything as well. Thanks for watching!
Have you climbed Mt. Fuji? What was your experience like?
Do you want to climb Mt. Fuji? Have questions?
Feel free to comment below!