Home
Back

Dear visitor, if you know the answer to this question, please post it. Thank you!

Note that this thread has not been updated in a long time, and its content might not be up-to-date anymore.

Page 1 of 5: Posts 1 - 20 of 84
 
1 2 3 4 5
next

Climbing Fuji 2007/6/23 04:41
I am hoping to climb mount Fuji and have read some about it, both on this site and on other places. The way I plan to go about it is to take the Keio express bus from Shinjuku in Tokyo and start my ascent from Kawaguchiko 5th Station. I hope to take the bus on Thu 02 of August and get to the top before sunrise of the 3:rd August. I have read that I should spend some time at a hut near the top in order to avoid altitudesickness (or atleast lower the chanses of getting it). After staying there a while I will go up to the top, see the sunrise and then walk the way back down again.

Here are my questions:
At what time should I get on the bus from Tokyo in order to not miss the sunrise?
Do I need to book a place on the bus or is it just to get on when the time comes?
Do I have to inform the huts before goint into one (and if so, how do I do that?).
How difficould it it to travel at night (I guess that it'll be quite dark the last streatch since the sun hasn't risen yet).

That's all I can come up with at the moment, but if I got more questions I'll just add them to the thread =)

Thanks in advance.
by Trond  

... 2007/6/23 13:44
At what time should I get on the bus from Tokyo in order to not miss the sunrise?

I suggest to leave Shinjuku by around 19:00. But it depends on your pace.

Do I need to book a place on the bus or is it just to get on when the time comes?

All seats are reserved, and on busy days, there is a risk that the bus gets booked out. Therefore, I recommend to make advance reservations.

Do I have to inform the huts before goint into one (and if so, how do I do that?).

If you intend to stay overnight at a hut, you should make advance reservations:
http://www.city.fujiyoshida.yamanashi.jp/div/english/html/lodging.html

But if you just hang around the hut for a while to buy a drink or so, you can just drop in.

How difficould it it to travel at night (I guess that it'll be quite dark the last streatch since the sun hasn't risen yet).

You should bring a flashlight. But the trail will also be lit up by the many other people hiking up the mountain with flashlights:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6901.html
by Uji rate this post as useful

How to know which hut? 2007/6/23 16:25
Thank you so much for the quick response.

Now I got a few extra questions though:

Do yo know which hut is to preffere of those in the list you linked to? and are they all alongside the trail so I won't miss it? (I was hoping to spend a few (4-5) hours sleaping in the hut so I won't be sleepy when I get to the top and descend back down again). Will it be enought to leave at 19 if I do that in order to still make it to the top at sunrise?
My pace is about normal or slightly faster by the way.

How do I book the bus? is there any phonenumber I may call to book a seat?

Thank you once again.
by Trond rate this post as useful

... 2007/6/23 19:05
Do yo know which hut is to preffere of those in the list you linked to?

No, I don't think there are big differences. Don't expect any luxury at any of the huts.

and are they all alongside the trail so I won't miss it?

Yes.

I was hoping to spend a few (4-5) hours sleaping in the hut so I won't be sleepy when I get to the top and descend back down again

Then you would have to pay the overnight rate. Most people, who overnight at the hut, arrive at the hut by around 6pm, i.e. they start hiking from the 5th Station around noon. Then, they sleep from around 7pm to around 1am, although it depends how far up the hut is located (most huts are around the 7th and 8th Station).

How do I book the bus? is there any phonenumber I may call to book a seat?

The phone number: 03-5376-2222
by Uji rate this post as useful

Great! 2007/6/23 21:32
Thank you for all the help, I'll definitely climb it on my trip to Japan =)

This will hopefully be a great trip ;D

Thanks so much again.
by Trond rate this post as useful

HI 2007/6/24 13:01
First off, you can ask your doctor to presribe you DIAMOX, Just read about it on Wikipedia. It helps with with acclimitization - you would start taking it a couple of days before you climb. Fujisan Hotel is known to have English speaking staff.
If you want to sleep 4 or 5 hours, you would have to leave Shinjuku earlier..
I will be climbing one week earlier than you and the bus from Shinjuku takes 2.5 hours. I plan to start climbing at 3pm for 4 hours to a hut (haven't decided) But I think one of the higher ones.. because I want to climb more of Fuji on the first leg when there is light so i can take pictures plus it is not as stressful, and then climb only a short distance in the night, when I am also more tired and the breathing gets harder. Please take care, and hope you have a safe climb (buy some oxygen in Tokyo sports store - it's cheaper than when you get to gogome)
by ichinensei rate this post as useful

Both Ways 2007/6/24 22:43
I have climbed Fuji both ways. The first time was at night. A storm blew in and we ended up not going to the top. We made it to the 9th stage and decided not to continue due to poor visibility. Two climbers died that night in the storm. It was harder to climb at night.

The second time we left earlier and climbed to the 9th stage and spent the night. Don't plan on getting much sleep. You are packed in like sardines. We climbed the last stage in the dark and were at the top for the sunrise. I would suggest climbing in the light and spending the night.

I did have a little bit of altitude sickness the first time.

I would layer your clothes and come prepared for both warm and cold weather
by robc224 rate this post as useful

Thank you 2007/6/25 03:59
Thank you all for the replies, I'll make sure to think over all the comments before I atempt the climb.

/Sincerely Trond
by Trond rate this post as useful

Climbing Aug 31st? 2007/6/25 14:42
I have friends who will be in Japan the last week of August and would like to climb Mt. Fuji on the night of 31st August.

The official climbing season usually ends Aug 31st, does this mean there are no buses or fewer buses down from the 5th station the morning of Sept 1st?

This year the 31st is a Friday so I wondered if the season might run to the end of the weekend. I can't find exact dates for this year's season on the sites I have searched so far.
by Sira rate this post as useful

... 2007/6/25 16:28
The buses run on according to the "climbing season timetable" until September 2.
by Uji rate this post as useful

Booking 2007/6/27 16:21
I wonder if anyone can make the reservations for me if I tell him / her the dates and phonenumbers and so on. The reason to why I don't do this myself is that I'm nowhere near good enough at japanese to be able to book anything over the phone.

Let me know if anyone think that would be ok for them to do that (fnutt.j@gmail.com).

/Sincerely Trond
by Trond rate this post as useful

Is it really cold? 2007/7/1 22:31
Hi!
Is anybody could tell me - is it really cold there in mid. July?
What kind of clothes you sugest to wear?
by Michael Popkov rate this post as useful

-20C 2007/7/2 02:01
A lot of websites i've read say, the temperature is 20C colder at the top than whatever it is in Tokyo. So if it is 35C in Tokyo - 20C = 15C at the top. Of course, if it rains, and the wind blows like mad, then the temperature would be lower...
by ichinensei rate this post as useful

much colder at night 2007/7/2 08:10
Possibly that's true. If you are climbing overnight though, it is more likely to be just above 0 deg C at the top- I have climbed twice in good weather, and it was 35 deg in the daytime in Tokyo when I set off, and about 2 or 3 deg when we arrived at the top at around 4am.

With wind chill it can feel colder, and if it rains it will be much colder. Take plenty of warm, windproof clothes you can put on in layers as you ascend and take off as you descend.
by Sira rate this post as useful

cold! 2007/7/2 08:19
It was freezing cold there in mid July! The temperature was even lower than mid winter in Tokyo. You might not feel that cold while climbing up, though. It was too cold to sleep when I stayed at a hut on the 8th station.

I took subashiri trail and I met many tourists who took a wrong trail when they go back to Kawaguchiko station.

You should make sure that you are taking a right trail on the way back or you'll be in a big trouble.
by Abab rate this post as useful

a lil question & answer 2007/7/6 01:10
I suggest, (from a lil research) that you leave kawaguchiko stn 5 at around 3pm u should get to the 8th station around 6pm - time to sleep 5-6 hrs, then continue walking after 12am - should be sweet. Pack thermals!! :)

I have a question 4 anyone also, - do you know if there are lockers in the huts to put backpacks into? eg. 8th station?
by bess rate this post as useful

Luggage storage when climbing Mt Fuji 2007/7/6 06:32
Does anyone know where we can leave our luggage when climbing Mt Fuji? We will only be taking a small day pack when we climb, and planning to stay at 8th station overnight, but where do people leave their main luggage? Are there lockers at 5th station or at a train station where items can be left overnight?
by Ada rate this post as useful

To Bess 2007/7/6 09:40
The track down the mountain is different from the track up the mountain so you don't want to leave any luggage in the huts. Also you will have a very hard time carrying any heavy luggage, even a backpack, up as far as the 8th station- it's a pretty solid uphill climb.

Anything you don't want to take to the top of the mountain should be left at the bottom somewhere- I assume there are lockers but perhaps someone else can confirm this.
by Sira rate this post as useful

thanks 2007/7/6 12:40
Thanks for all your hanyy info Sira - gold. I was hoping to ascend via Yoshidaguchi trail, & descend via Fujinomia Trail, but I guess that cant happen seeing that I'll have to leave my bag at the bottom of Kawaguchiko .. o well :)

Thanks again :)
by bess rate this post as useful

Getting down 2007/7/6 15:26
I have been told over and over again that it's really importent that I take the right way down, but what way is the correct one? Is it marked in english so I got a chanse at finding it or are there some sort of a map there that I could get once I get there?

I'm going down back to Kawaguchiko (I guess?) since that's where I started.
by Trond rate this post as useful

Page 1 of 5: Posts 1 - 20 of 84
 
1 2 3 4 5
next

reply to this thread