My boyfriend and I wil be in Japan at the end of August and have already reserved a hotel for one (1) night in Kawaguchiko. They offer free cancellation, but we made the reservation so we’d have a back-up place to store our luggage safely in town (i.e., also heard they run out of lockers at the 5th Station).

Even if we took the first bus from Tokyo that Monday, we likely couldn’t get underway for our hike until after noon which is pushing it for a same-day ascent/descent even for reasonably fit people. We’re now realizing that given our time constraints... it might be better to hike Mt Fuji starting in the evening and through the night to summit at dawn.

We’d have the afternoon to nap and stock up on snacks/water. We wouldn’t pay to sleep anywhere overnight on the mountain. Are we still able to stop for food and to get our walking sticks stamped between 10:00pm and 4:00am? Are they staffed 24 hours during peak season? Has anyone else done this before? We’re meeting friends in Kyoto late Tuesday, so we’re not able to extend our time in Kawaguchiko but really would like to hike Mt Fuji with the time we have (if possible). Any advice is much appreciated!

The clientele on this forum tend to be a bit older, and hence, do not do much hiking in the dark. I suggest posting on Thorntree/Lonely Planet, which is the habitat of younger, more adventurous folks.

I have done some hiking in Japan, but not up to Mt Fujii. The fact that one has to hike in an orderly line has dissuaded me.

Google some images of hiking up Fuji and see if that is what you have in mind. The photos I saw showed people going in a line (like Calif says) an arm's length from each other.

If you are experienced at hiking at altitude then please forgive me and ignore the rest of this post!

I have never hiked Fujisan but have done many other high altitude hikes. I assume that you are familiar with the issues of acclimatisation when ascending to over 3700m if not, I would have a look at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/altitude-sickness/ .

The closest we have done is ascent of Mt Kinabalu at some 4200m. We started off mid morning, climbed until late afternoon, tried to get some sleep until 2 am when we started the final ascent in the dark. It was tough, very tough and is partly a fitness issue (leg strength as well as aerobic) but mainly the altitude. There is no way of knowing how you may or may not be affected until you are there. Our experience has been that older people tend to fare better than younger and that fitness has no bearing on weather you may be affected or not. With such an ascent, I would seriously consider consulting your GP re taking Diamox which helps many people.

I didn’t realise that you have to hike in an orderly line as described by CaliforniaLady. You really need to get into a rhythm hike at your own pace, whether that be faster or slower than anyone else. If it really is that regimented, it would be enough to put me off and spend th time at the bottom waiting for teh clouds to break to take a decent phot o ( surprisingly difficult!)

This young lady booked a package tour that included transport, meals, hut stay and guide for approx $250 person. Sounds like a good deal. Wouldn't need the hotel room and you could send your luggage forward to Kyoto by takuhaibin.
Hope you have a good climb