After an ear-popping bus ride up to 7,562 ft, we met up with the last member of our party, an Irishman by the name of Gareth. Rain was descending so we took shelter in one of the two shops that remained open. Having not eaten since lunch and having neglected to pack, I was famished -- an inauspicious start to the climb. After searching desperately for something that looked like a hearty meal, I finally settled on the only warm thing they served: steamed pork buns. I bought and quickly devoured two of them, and I also managed to procure a rain suit and a traditional wooden hiking stick.
We began our ascent a little before 11 pm, and the rain quickly subsided. Though the temperature was cool, I changed into shorts and t-shirt, which I the vast majority of the hike. Our plan was to reach the summit (12,389 ft) in time for sunrise, of "go rei kou" (spiritual light), which is the most popular way for Japanese to climb Fuji. From Station 5, there were five more stations, with Station 10 being at the summit. The journey normally takes between 5-7 h, so we knew at the beginning that we would need to maintain a steady pace to arrive there in time for sunrise (around 5 am). As we began hiking, I felt a profound sense of adventure. Here I was halfway around the world from home climbing a mountain in the middle of the night!
It was clear that the other guys in our group were ready to maintain a relatively brisk pace. I had already developed a painful headache, presumably due to altitude sickness and dehydration, so I was happy to stay back with Phuong. She was visibly struggling in the early stages, so we traded backpacks (since mine was lighter).
Gareth, Rob, and Dave were far better prepared than Phuong and I and had brought headlamps along with them. Dave was generous enough to lend us his back up flashlights, one battery-powered and one crank-powered. The battery powered one quickly died, and so Phuong and I were left climbing in the dark with one dim crank-powered light between up. At this point, some of the mystery and romance of hiking worn off, and we progressed slowly but steadily.
Along the way, we passed aid stations, where we could pay 200 or 300 yen to have our walking staffs stamped/branded. The climb went smoothly through Station 8, about which time we reconvened with the other guys from our group, who had elected to take a long rest. The temperature had dropped significantly, so I put on my coat and pants -- happy to have packed something useful. As we progressed up the mountain, the the path narrowed and human traffic because thicker. The stretch until Station 9 was especially long, and I became dismayed as I looked up searching the mountain for it. We came across two aid stations (both not official "Stations), and then anther big station along the way, cruelly named "Station 8.5." During that period, I became totally exhausted, virtually asleep on my feet, and devoid of energy. As we took a break a small break outside one of the shelters, I power napped for a few minutes. I woke and took a few breaths of compressed O2 from a canister that Phuong had purchased. For one reason or another, my spirits were immediately buoyed, and my energy level returned to normal. We trekked on through the night, often stopping at a standstill at rocky parts of the trail. During the stationary moments, I had time to admire the winding string of flashlights and headlamps from the tightly compacted line of people ascending the mountain. I was reminded of the line of headlights snaking through the desert on nighttime drives to Las Vegas. Below we could also make out the distant lights of metro Tokyo like a incandescent computer chip. As we walked, we noticed the horizon starting to lighten. We reached Station 9, which turned out to be nothing but a marker in the ground and a wooden gateway. As the sun neared the horizon, we quicken our pace hoping to reach the summit, which was now within view. When it became clear that we wouldn't make it, we found a comfortable spot, and waited. Heavy clouds surrounded us, and it looked grim for a few minutes because. Miraculously, right before the sun came up, we had a 10-minute window of clear skies.
For risk of sounding cliche, I won't describe the sunrise in depth. All I will say is that it was miraculous. With so much beauty in the world, I found myself thinking, how can we justify the level of distress that we inflict upon one another.
The others, it turned out, had made it to the summit just in time for sunrise -- Dave said he was literally running to the top to catch it. After then sun came up, we hiked another 15 minutes (read: stood in line for 15 minutes) until we joined the others at the summit. At the summit, there were several shops, and Phuong treated me a piping-hot hot chocolate, and we settled in for a warm restaurant, where I had a splendid plate of curry. We all celebrated with a half-cup of Japanese whiskey while enjoying the view. Myself and Gareth were suffering from fairly bad altitude sickness, so we made our way back down after getting our staffs stamped, getting some souvenirs, and having a look at the crater in the middle of the mountain.
The walk down was brutal. The sun was up, and it got hot quickly. We took a different path back from the one that we took up, and it mostly consisted monotonous zig-zagging down a trail of of loose red gravel, which made for unsteady footing the whole way down. Everyone's quadriceps were shot by the end. Too exhausted to keep up conversation, everyone was walking at different speeds for most of the three-hour trip down. We would occasionally wait along the path to avoid losing one another. Then at the end, we finally rendezvoused. Miraculously, we didn't lose anyone, and we managed to immediately catch a direct bus back to Shinjuku station. Everyone fell asleep promptly on the 2.5 hour ride. Upon arriving at Shinjuku, we parted ways. Phuong and I live in the same complex, so we took the Metro back, managing not to fall asleep.
I was ravenous, so we stopped at FamilyMart, and I bought a bento box and some sushi, along with a giant Coke. When I entered my apartment, I saw that it was nearly 3:00 PM. I showered, ate, and managed to use the internet for a bit before dozing off.
When I awoke, the sun had set. It was 8:00 PM, and all I had energy for was another meal before bed.
