climbing Mount Fuji

Hello,

I'm trying to plan a trip climbing mount fuji in the august time frame. i've done a lot of research in this and read a lot of "getting prepared" guides but they all seem to have listing of things i dont think i'll ever use on the mountain or to me make the trip something more then the "untrained" camper experience described.

have do have camping experience when i was a child been almost 15 years since my last camping experience longer then 1 day. so i know how to get prepared for a hiking/camping expedition.

however this is different then any other camping experience ive ever had.

can anyone who has really climbed mount fuji give me a list of things you brought wish you had brought and regretted you did bring?

thank you to anyone for the help

First of all, Mount Fuji is a not a hiking/climbing expedition. Camping is not done on Mount Fuji. You either without sleeping or stay overnight at a mountain hut.

As for the equipment to be brought, you don't need to bring a lot besides the essentials, such as proper shoes and clothing that protects against the cold and rain. Of course, it might not rain and you bring the rain gear without using it. But that is just how a responsible hiker packs. If you hike during night, a flash light is needed. The following page lists all the items that you should bring. It is not a long list:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6901.html

uji,

i thank you for your reply but i have already reviewed that information. i am looking for information from someone with actual experience climbing the mountain/volcano. to be able to say ''i ignored this and i payed for it'' or ''i brought this like the guides say and i never needed it''

I've climbed Mt. Fuji a few times now and I'd say that I wholeheartedly agree with everything the page Uji links recommends bringing. To add to it though:

1. Proper shoes are a must. Something with high ankles and good tread. You can get by with less but you will pay for it in the long run. Gaiters can be a lifesaver especially on the descent. A decent pair of short gaiters is sufficient and shouldn't cost a lot of money.

2. If climbing at night bring warm clothes. I though I'd be fine with an outer rain shell, a medium insulating layer and long underwear, but I wish I had a heavier jacket, especially when waiting for the sunrise at the summit. It was something like -10 Celcius with windchill in beginning of September. I also had a pair of light workgloves that worked great to insulate my hands and protecting them from the rocks.

3. Bring plenty of food. The prices are ridiculous at the top. The cheapest thing most places sell is hot water for a few hundred yen. Bring your own cup noodles, they don't weigh anything and for a few hundred yen you've got yourself a nice hot pick me up at a fraction of the price they'll charge you to purchase one at the summit. Pack a few plastic bags too cause you have to carry your garbage out with you.

Also, don't forget a camera, with a charged up battery (or spares if you're using alkalines), and space on your card. You may have to warm up the batteries in your jacket if its a particularly cold morning.

I have climbed Mt. Fuji twice and I agree with the above, including Uji's advice and the information on this site.

First, it is illegal to camp on Mt. Fuji, so you can leave that aspect out of your planning. You will be going up and then down, or at most staying for a few hours in a hut. I personally recommend just going for the top without stopping in a hut as the huts tend to be crowded and noisy and most people get little sleep.

It is also better to get past the main hut area (8th station) before the masses of people start to leave them for the summit at around 2am- if you get stuck in the middle of all those people you can expect to basically be waiting in a queue to get to the top, especially on Saturday night.

It's important not to arrive at the top too early though if you want to wait for the sunrise as the temp is usually close to 0 deg C, made considerably worse by the windchill factor.

forgive my language... as it appears i am confusing people.

i am thinking of going with an organized tour group which will be stopping sometime in a hut along the path.

this is what i meant by camping. i have no intentions of just randomly pitching my own tent. am i planning on going with an organized group.

i have read the many guides about items to bring and i have experience in winter camping from my youth in boy scouts.

however i was looking for some real life examples like the following

"the guides i looked at said to bring a knife" (no guide ive seen says this, again this is an example) "however i did not see the need for it so i did not pack one. that was a huge mistake because my boots would often get large rocks in them and i had little to no means of getting the large rocks out of my shoes" again this is an example.

another example....
"guides say to bring a raincoat. i checked the weather on the way to mt fuji and before the actual ascend at station 5. my weather reports said no rain for the next 72 hours. so i did not pack one. i left in a locker. this was a mistake because the weather after station 7 does not seem to follow the standard weather reporting"

thank you for the assistance so far.

It's important not to arrive at the top too early though if you want to wait for the sunrise as the temp is usually close to 0 deg C, made considerably worse by the windchill factor.

I would also recommend a straight overnight hike, and Sira has an excellent point that you should pay close attention to your timing. I once went with a large group that got spread out along the trail. My friend and I are relatively fast hikers, but we paced ourselves and took a short hour long break at a hut along the way (which we paid for the privilege btw), and made it to the top with less than an hour of waiting for sunrise. Another part of our group raced to the top and were very pleased to make great time to the summit, but that slowly turned to misery as they waited for hours, huddled together in the stinky bathrooms for warmth.

Also, if you haven't hiked in awhile it would be a good idea to get out and do some practice hiking, to break in your books and your body.

I hiked it in August a couple years ago, and it was warm and sunny when I left 5th station at around 530 am. I did the hike all in one day. The weather reports don't have alot to do with what is happening on Fuji, the weather can be unpredictable. If you get lucky, you'll have a nice sunny day, but when I went I got caught in a downpour and lightning storm. I had a rainjacket, but no rain pants, and I was soaked and chilled to the bone. Also, take plastic bags to wrap all of your stuff in (camera, cell phone, etc). There is no shelter from the rain if you are in the middle of the trail between huts, and in the sudden storms, all the shelters are full and overflowing with people. The disposable rain jackets and pants are only like 400 yen at the convenience store near Kawaguchiko Station, or if you have a car, you can pick them up at the 100 yen shop. Also, I wished I had warmer clothes with me, but like I said, if you get lucky, you might not need them. Also, I know you just used it as an example, but I would not reccommend carrying a knife anywhere in Japan.

thank you all for the replies. i think i got a better idea of what the bring now that the guides are lightly brushing over or dont say.

I agree regarding the weather. Mt. Fuji being a kind of stand-alone mountain (i.e. not in a range of mountains of similar height but by far the highest point in the area, it has its own microclimate and can have rain when there is none anywhere else. The reverse is also possible- I could see thunderstorms below us towards Yokohama, but it didn't rain at all on Fuji when I was there, thankfully. Basically mountain weather anywhere is unpredictable and I think it is foolhardy not carry rain gear when climbing any decent-sized mountain.

Calling it camping is confusing- I don't think of staying in a mountain hut as camping any more than staying in a youth hostel would be camping.

I don't know about bringing a knife- I don't recall getting rocks stuck in my sneakers. The route coming down is very sandy and I had to stop several times to tip the sand out of my shoes, but rocks were never a problem. Be aware that it is illegal to carry a blade longer than 5 cm or so (I'm not certain that is the length, but I know it is fairly small) on you in Japan and occasionally tourists do get in trouble over this.