Climbing Part of Fuji-san

Hi All,

At the moment, I've got a friend coming to Japan soon who wishes to climb part of Fuji-san. He's aware that he won't be able to climb anywhere near the top due to the weather, but does anyone know anything at all about climbing some of the bottom areas in mid Jan??

Normally I would not ask as it's something that does not float my boat - but anyway....

Thanks in advance...

There are several shorter hiking opportunities around some of the 5th Stations, however, during January, the road to the 5th Station and these hiking trails are usually covered by snow and impassable. So, your only option is further down the mountain, but I am not aware of any interesting trails there. More interesting trails are found on the hills surrounding Mount Fuji, but even these can be impassable if there is too much snow.

Maybe try looking into the Yoshida trail which starts out at the Sengen jinja in Fujiyoshida. You could also drive up to Umagaeshi and start hiking from there. As Uji said, there is a high possibility that the trail is covered in snow... This trail leads up to the Yoshida 5th station (different from the Kawaguchi-ko 5th station) where there is a hut called Satogoya.

The Satogoya hut is open on Jan 11-12, 18-19 and 25-26. If you are looking to spend the night, you should contact them in advance. Also, please be aware that the owner descends the mountain on Sunday afternoon, so accommodation is only available on the Saturday's mentioned above.