Climbing Mt. Fuji: Tour or Solo?

I will be backpacking in Japan for 5 weeks from June 16th-July 24th, and was planning on tackling Mt. Fuji on July 21st. Is it better to climb solo or go with a tour group like this one: http://hisexperience.jp/index.php?option=com_content&task=vi... ?

The above quoted tour group is 24,800 JPY -- how much cheaper could I do a two-day trip on my own? Can I sleep in any of the huts, etc.?

If you travel yourself, you can do the trip for about 6,000 yen per person if you do not overnight at a hut or for about 13,000 yen per person if you do overnight at a hut. That is for just transportation and accommodation.

wat are the other cost when i climb mt fuji?

what type of hut are u talking about?

=)

Aside from a cost perspective, being a first-timer to Japan and climbing Mt. Fuji, is it safer/more prudent to go on a tour?

If you are any type of hiker, Mt. Fuji is not that hard. My friends told me to leave at ten to get up in time to watch the sunrise and I got to the top at 1am and had to wait in the freezing rain for 3 hours and the clouds never cleared.

Solo. Take a bus from the train station. Bring a jacket for the top and food and water. Prices on the mountain are a rip-off.

You can do it alone. I am not though because i think it would be more fun to climb with friends. Talk and laugh and share the experience. But if your option is climbing alone or climbing alone with H.I.S. then you could definitely do it alone. Lots of people do it alone so you can meet new people.

Also bring a flashlight (torch). Jupiter Rising must be reasonably fit because I left at about 9pm and didn't arrive until about 3.30am. We didn't stay in a hut but took lots of rests partly because the faster you go, the greater the chance you will start developing symptoms of altitude sickness.

There are so many thoudands of people climbing Mt. Fuji every night that I think it's a waste of money to pay for a tour- you will feel like you are on one anyway. There is no way you will lose the track with the hordes climbing with you.

Awesome, that will save me a lot of money! Solo it is, thanks for the input everyone.

You also have to think of the crowd. If you climb on the weekend, there will be more people and towards the top, will get very congested, you'll be lucky if you can take one step per second.