(Written 10/99)
Last July, while living in Japan, I had the opportunity to climb the tallest and most sacred mountain in Japan. Mt. Fuji. For the previous ten months I had been living in Yokohama, a large city 20 miles south of Tokyo, as an exchange student. The program through which I went on exchange with, Rotary, had offered all of its exchange students living in the Tokyo area the opportunity to climb Mt. Fuji. This climb was, by far, the highlight of many of the students' trips, including mine. This climb was also at the end of many of the students' year in Japan and would be their last trip in Japan before returning to their homelands.
We started by having all of us meet in downtown Tokyo at Shinjuku Station. After everyone had arrived we all boarded onto a couple of chartered buses and drove to a small town located near the base of Mt. Fuji. There, we all stayed in a small complex that was mainly used for religious retreats. We were to spend the night here before starting our climb the next morning.
With the time we still had that day we all just relaxed. We talked about our countries and our experiences in Japan. We all played some soccer and some volleyball for fun. We all just tried to have a fun time. At eleven or so most of the students went to bed, but a small group of us decided to stay up the whole night. First we walked down to the nearby Seven Eleven where we bought some fireworks at about 1 in the morning. Then we proceeded to walk to the lake nearby and shoot off the fireworks. As if this weren't enough we then decided to go swimming. The water was pretty cold, but we all still had fun.
After we got back we talked some more before everyone got back up. After everyone was up we got on the buses. It was now about five-thirty in the morning. At about six-thirty we arrived at the trailhead. By now there was light, but you could not see the sun because of the clouds and fog that enveloped us. We all bought some supplies such as water and ponchos at the nearby camping store before we started up the mountain.
As my friend Sean and I quickly got ahead of everyone it became apparent to us that we would be one of the first ones up the mountain. (We had actually trained together for this trip. We had walked from Yokohama to Tokyo to build up our endurance.) It was a steady uphill hike on reddish volcanic cinders that would occasionally find their way into your shoe. After a while a very light drizzle began to fall, but it was just enough so that you couldn't take out your camera. It was like walking in the mist generated by a waterfall. This coupled with the fog did not allow you to see up the mountain more than about ten feet so you could never tell where you were elevation wise.
As time progressed Sean began to succumb to the altitude and had to slow his pace up. I continued on without him. Periodically I would stop to catch my breathe or to drink some water. Occasionally I would pass a hut that sold water or walking sticks or others that offered a place to stay for the night. They also told you how high you were. As I passed one at about the 11000 foot level I looked in and saw a TV. Then I looked to the side of it and saw a vending machine. I have no clue why these things were up there.
By this time I was freezing cold and soaking wet, but I knew the top was near. I knew that the mountain was only about 12000 feet tall so the summit couldn't of been much further. This was just before I saw these two small dogs carved out of marble. Then I passed under a torii gate that was completely made out of marble and to my surprise I was at the summit.
What I saw next absolutely stunned me. I had climbed a couple of mountains in America that were a little taller and each time there was a little book to sign in saying you had reached the top. Well here there was a small mountain village with two little restaurants that sold soup and hot drinks to warm you up. I ducked into one of these restaurants to warm up as I waited for some of the other exchange students to make it to the summit. As I waited the rain turned to snow. It was the first time that it had snowed on Mt. Fuji in July in over fifty years. What luck.
Eventually about 25 students from our group made it to the top. We had a little celebration before we started our descent. When I got to the bus I grabbed some dry clothes and changed quickly. Then I went to sleep in my seat and slept the whole way back to Tokyo. That was one long day, but I will never forget that day. It was so much fun and I have so many memories that I can share with others. If I had the chance I would do it again
~Rob Page III~
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Climbing Mt. Fuji
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