Fuji-san or bust

こんにちわ！

Finally it happened. The Mt. Fuji trip (or Fuji-san as I will refer to it).

Background info! Fuji-san is 3,776 meters tall (12,388 ft). There are 10 stations in all, the 10th being the summit. It is a straight shot up from the 5th station, the path zigzagging up the slope to make it climbable.

I had a lot of prep work. I got some gloves and a headlamp and full rain gear (jacket and pants), water, snacks, etc. Kuzuhara-san also lent me a sweater which I was immensely grateful for.

We met at ICU Saturday morning at 7:45. I had left the house early so as to grab a sandwich from the 711 for lunch that day. We got onto the bus at 8 and left at 8:15. About 2 hours later we stopped at a rest stop. I got this grilled chicken that was pretty good. Also some chocolate. I felt that I would need chocolate on this trip.

We loaded back on and by about noon, we had reached the 5th station where we would begin our ascent. We chilled out and explored the area for an hour and a half. There were restaurants, souvenirs, and other tourist things. It was beautiful sometimes, and clouds kept drifting by and enveloping us in fog. It was bizarre being so high up but on flat ground like that. (Pics on flickr already).

At 1:30 we started. Saturday was the easy stuff. An hour and a half to the 6th station and about 2-3 hours to the 5th. I get a little fuzzy on the actual times. We arrived around 5:30 at 7th station where we would rest at a mountain hut we had paid for. 6:00 found us eating beef curry (the Japanese just LOVE curry! none of it spicy though so that's ok), then taking pictures of the brief break in the coulds, going to the bathroom and falling asleep in the very cramped sleeping area.

At 9:30 everyone started getting up and 10:30 we all had our gear on, headlamps shining and raring to go. There were SO MANY PEOPLE. The guide guessed there were 5000 people climbing Fuji that day. The goal was to see the sunrise from the top (sunrise at 4:30am), and that seemed to be everyones goal. As such, there was actual people traffic along the way. The climb itself was extremely difficult, but every time you started getting somewhere, there was a line of people blocking your way.

I get even fuzzier on times at this point because it was pitch black, I was tired, cold, and miserable. Also anxious to get up in time. about 2 hours after we left the hut we hit the beginning of 8th station. An hour after that we hit the end of 8th station (two huts with a good distance between them). Then there was another 15-20 minutes before we hit the end of the end of 8th station (to give you an idea of how irritated I was).

An hour or so after that we hit the 8.5 station. By now, Vivian, Evan and I had completely left the main group, just barreling ahead to reach the top. I had already decided that at the guides pace, they would not get there in time, and we decided to go it alone. Alone meaning with each other and surrounded by hundreds of Japanese.

At 9th station, we met a group of three other ICU students who had gone ahead and were waiting to see if everyone else would catch up. It was now about 3:40am (holy smokes) and the sky was beginning to lighten. Therefore we were beginning to panic. The sign said it would take a half hour to reach the top, but given previous experience we knew that was impossible given the crowds.

We gave up waiting at 3:50 and headed out again, this time in our merry group of six (hey my favorite number!). We were getting more tired and worried as time passed. The crowds grew thicker and slower as well. We decided that in this one case in Japan, that we would not worry so much about being polite. Not to say we shoved our way to the top, but I might have cut off a couple hikers. We also clambered up the rocks and dirt surrounding the path and generally acted like gaijin (kind of rude word for foreigner). We called it a 'Gaijin Smash' (it had previously existed, we didn't make that up). So we Gaijin Smashed our way up the mountain.

Gosh darn it if we didn't make it up in time too. It was awesome but in a very tired subdued way when we reached the top (where it was snowing a bit) by 4:30 exactly. And wouldn't you know it, but right when the sunrise was getting spectacular, a huge cloud came by and rain started that would last the rest of the day. This is rather remeniscent of my Mt. Marcy hike...

So we watched the fog get brighter from the safety of a small open restaurant (kind of like a huge leanto given that one wall was almost completely open). A couple of the others got hot sweet sake to toast and another hot milk, but I opted to go drinkless.

We chilled and waited there as others from the group trickled in. I dozed of sitting there. At one point I tryed exploring but it was too cold, wet and I was too tired. There also wasn't that much to see. Some restaurants, souvenir stands, vending machines (of course!) and fog. Not to mention oodles of people.

At about 6:15am we all started to get ready to descend. Impatient to be off the stupid mountain and warm again, some of us took off. We knew where to meet and when, so we departed in small groups of two or three (any more and it was difficult keep track of everyone).

Descending was just as miserable. It was steep and I had to dig my heels in to kind of skate/surf down the mountian. It was easier and less painful for me to go fast, though if Mom had been watching she would have been horrified. I suppose I could have hit a rock wrong and rolled my ankle but I was extremely focused and paying attention to where my feet were all the time. Not to mention my wonderful balance. It was very fast going as a result.

I didn't take pictures because it was raining and I couldn't be bothered. It was pretty straightforward. Zigzag lines of people as far as the eye could see and farther. We arrived at the meeting point at 5th station at 9:30 (what took us 6-8 hours up took 3-4 down) and Vivian and I (we had paired up) went to the bathroom and changed our pants (I think I ruined my favorite sweatpants because they were the only ones I had with me here) and other various wet things.

The others started to trickle in again, and we tried to sit at one of the tables to wait. After a while we ewre kicked out for not having a reservation, making us mad at the tour guides for telling us to meet somewhere we couldn't stay. After many miscommunications and time consuming delays, we all ended up on the bus again by about 11-12:00. Now we were headed to our reward, the onsen.

An onsen is a hot spring bath, where girls and boys bathe separately. They have to, because everyone is nekkers. As in, nude, no clothes or bathing suits. Well, when in Rome.

So we awkwardly entered the lockers, showered and got in, just chilling in the hot water enjoying the warm clean feeling after the hike. When satisfied I got out and met some others. We got lunch by purchasing these tickets for our meals from a machine and then bringing it to a window where we got the food. I got Yamanaka soba, which was soup with soba noodles, some fried onion stuff, and a bunch of other veggies and other delicious things. Question: Sarah, do you eat a lot of soup based meals while eating out in Japan? Answer: Yes, I don't really know why. Probably because I tend to know what it is on the menu and know it's a safe bet.

We got on the bus at about 2:30, stopped at a rest stop again (different this time) and were at ICU by 6:30ish. Most everyone slept most of the trip. I quicly grabbed my stuff and took off. I had to walk the longish miserable slightly rainy walk home still.

I got home by about 6:45, and started to sort out my wet gear and dirty clothes. I took a shower (because I was already gross and sweaty again) and washed my socks and pants by hand at the same time because they were so abysmally dirty.

We ate a delicious dinner and I pretty much went straight to bed. I had had to study this weekend for a vocab quiz, but I was incapable of really studying and decided to let this one go. They're only worth 10 points anyway. I ended up getting about 4 right, though most of the other Fuji-san hikers also did poorly. Two didn't even show up for class.

So yeah. That was Fuji-san. Some closing thoughts on that, it is important to note that Fuji-san is completely unlike any mountain I have ever traversed. There were no trees beyond the 6th station, it was steep all the time. For a while at first it was scary too because the edge dropped off into nothingness, but we got over that quickly. I've never hiked in the fog like that, or at night. Especially for that long. And I have never encountered so many people while hiking before. It was incredible and miserable. Hooray I did it. Never Again. Ever.

The guide said as we were getting off the bus at ICU "Please do not hate Mt. Fuji". Just because of that I will not hate Mt. Fuji. But only by a little bit.　Also important to mention, I walk like an old person because my legs have not stopped hurting since.　I am convinced they will never stop hurting.

That being said, I did cool stuff Monday and today too. We had the last cultural event, zori making. Zori are sandles made from this rope stuff and cloth. Like thick soft woven flip flops. I'm going to keep this short...

There were a bunch of ladies to help us and I made mine dark blue and this whiteish light blue. There were cool patterns on the cloth too. It took a few hours total, though maybe less, because I had to wait for directions for the next step often.

We stopped without finishing at 4:30 Monday, and continued today. I finished up quickly and had my one-on-one with Kojima-sensei. We had a lovely chat about Fuji-san, though most of it was in broken Japanese.

I went to the library for a while then home, chilled/studied, dinner and now I'm updating. I knew I couldn't put it off longer, as my parents at least are anxious to hear about all of this. Now however, I am off to bed. 'Tis late and I have another vocab quiz tomorrow. Sigh. We have a 2 chapter test friday and one more chapter to cover next week before our final exam. This is extremely stressful. Fuji-san didn't help either. Stupid mountian. Must. Not. Hate!

Lol.

じゃまた！