Our Climb up Mount Fuji
Once in Japan we heard and read about Mount Fuji as something you
just had to see and how beautiful the views are from the top. Apparently to see the
sunrise while you are at the top of the mountain is a view you will never forget. So we
planned to climb the mountain during the night to see the sun come up in the morning.
There are 8 rest stations along the route to the top of the mountain. However you can take a bus that leaves from Shinjuku and goes directly to the 5th station. This location is halfway up. Once there, you have a 6 hour hike/climb to the top.
The view we were looking forward to:
We left on a Friday night with the bus from Shinjuku straight to the 5th station. When we reached the 5th station it was raining. Well, we just hoped it would clear up as we climbed. It was dark anyway and there was nothing to see, so the rain was just annoying. We both bought an official Fuji Mountain walking stick. You can buy this stick and then have it stamped at several stations to prove that you have been to that particular point.
It was a very hard climb and the closer we got to the top, the harder it
rained and the colder it became. The 6 hour climb would be challenging enough in good
weather, but to add a constant downpour of cold, wet rain made it practically impossible.
After a few hours we were soaked to the bones despite our raingear, but we were determined
to get to the top by sunrise. We still hoped for it to clear up, but we thought that even
if it didn't perhaps the cloud bank would be below the summit and we would see the sunrise
anyway. That beautiful view was our only motivation. Around 4 o'clock AM (it was still
raining) we were getting very cold and tired. The rain was clearly not going to quit and
it was falling so hard that it actually hurt when it hit us. We were also almost to the
point of frostbite with the cold on our wet bodies. So we decided to try to find a place
to rest for the night. We tried at several rest stops, but they were all full.
Finally, at the last station they had a place for us (apparently all the smart people quit
climbing long before and never made it to the last stop before the summit). We received
some hot noodles and a bunkbed to sleep in (it was actually a bunk-loft so we slept WITH
about 20 other people on both sides of us) all for the "low" price of 6000 Yen
(around 60.00 US dollars). 
The next morning it was still pouring and in addition to that, there was a very hard wind. We were not in a hurry to get up, as there would not be even a SUN to be seen anyway. We stayed in the resthouse till about 10 o'clock AM. We decided that since we had come so far (and been through hell to get there) we were determined to get to the top so that our trip would prove to have been worth the effort. So we went onward to our ultimate goal: The Top of Mount Fuji!
And we did finally make it to the top. It was still wet, cold and windy,
so we got some (more) hot food and our stick stamped showing we had actually been at the
top. Then we made our way back down the mountain. 
The path down is different from the path we climbed up. The path up is steep with many steps cut out in the lava-rocks. The one going down is a zig-zag path of pebbles. It was very tricky to walk on, because it was very slippery. For once there was an advantage that it was wet. It seemed that it could be very dusty sliding down that path.
Trip and Ruud taking a break.
There is a proverb saying "A wise man climbs Fuji once. A
fool climbs it twice". Well we found out that a foolish man climbs the mountain when
it is raining! I guess we should have known better than to plan our trip to start on
Friday, August the 13th. And as for that stunning sunrise, have a look at the
view we got!
The view we got: