chrisb

I'll be travelling to Japan in July for business for 2 weeks, and I have several questions. What is the weather like then? Is it easy to get around as a westerner? I would like to climb Mt. Fuji but will be by myself. Will this pose a problem or is there any way I could join up with a group while there?

Florence

Bonjour Chris,

Will that be first or last weeks of July ? Expect heat and rain until mid-July, heat and humidity after that.

Try to be in Kyoto around the 15-17 for the Gion festival and parade but if you can't there are lots of others all around the country.

It is very easy to get around, even without knowledge of Japanese language. See www.jnto.go.jp for basic informations.

There are many tours to Mt Fuji in the Summer that you can join (Hato tours has them in English).

chrisb

Thanks Florence!

The information you posted is useful.

Is it possible to hook up with the Hato tours while there? I'll have a free weekend during the trip and was hoping to just sign up with a group while there, but didn't know if this is possible.

Florence

Bonjour again,

Here you are:
From: http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/travel/ specifically http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/travel/0210/31hato.html
"You can find brochures about the Hato bus tours at airports, tourist information centers, and most major hotels, where you can also make the bookings.
You can also directly contact Hato Bus in English:
Tel: +81-3-3435-6081
Fax: +81-3-3433-1972
Homepage: http://www.hatobus.co.jp/english/index.html"

chrisb

Florence,

I am interested in actually climbing Fuji and not doing a bus tour. The Hato tour you mentioned is just a bus tour. I was looking for a tour that I could actually meet up with and climb Fuji.

Thanks for your help!

seahopper

Climbing Mr Fuji can be made by yourself. To climb Mt Fuji, There is a direct bus from Shinjuku-nishiguchi to Fuji-gogome. Or, take JR chuo-line to Ohtsuki, Fuji-kyu line to Kawaguchiko, then bus to Gogome. From Gogome, it takes 5 hour to go up. Temperature at the top is almost freezing mark. People usually climb during the night to see sunrise from the top, so bring a flushlight, and keep warm. You will see so many people, especially on weekend.

tag

Chris, I climbed Fuji last year in July. It is really more of a rigorous hike than a mountain climb. You can climb to the top, take photos and come back down. Or you can climb near the top, stay at a lodge overnight and then finish the climb before taking photos and coming down. The straight climb can be done day or night. If you want to see the sunrise from the top you either need to climb beginning in the late afternoon or early evening and climb through the night or climb during the day, sleep for a few hours and finish the climb just before sunrise. Your choice depends on the weather, your time schedule, your fitness level, your finances and a variety of other factors. If you want more detailed info contact me at [email protected].

chrisb

Seahopper and Tag,

Thanks for the more detailed info on climbing Fuji. How long does it take to climb up and down if I did it in a day? Also, are there just so many people hiking it that it's ok to do it solo?

Tag-did you stay overnight when you climbed last year?

seahopper

If you take a train from Shinjuku as early as 5am, it wouldn't be impossible you do it in a day. For me, it took 4 and a half hours to go up, and 2 hour and half to go down. But, even if you are physically tough, please don't do that. On a typical summer day, because of high humidity, Mt Fuji will be in a dense fog and you wouldn't see anything memorable during the daytime. Only in the night time and early morning, the sky will be clear and you would enjoy 360 degree panorama from the top.

Climbing Mt Fuji is a once in a lifetime experience and not so many people would consider coming back; it's a monotonous and straneous 5 hour climb. If you have a chance to come back to Japan in the future, one of those Japan Alps mountains, such as Mr Hakuba, Mt Hotaka, Mt Yatsugadake would be recommended.

tag

Chris, you can definitely do it solo. On our climb we encountered one 70 year old gentleman who spoke good English and had climbed the mountain several times. He was doing it alone at his own pace. We passed him near the top and then later saw him while walking around the crater. As always in Japan you will find English speakers who are eager to practice (especially among the younger generations) so even if you climb alone you need not be lonely.

As for the number of people climbing, that depends on the day. I don't remember how many hundreds of thousands of people climb during the two month "climbing season." We climbed on a Wednesday, the first week of climbing season (when the weather was still relatively cool), when the schools were still in session. So it was not very crowded. We were told that on the weekends, when school is out and the weather is nice, it can get quite congested, with ten thousand people, perhaps, joining you for the day.

We did stay overnight at a lodge, the Tomoe-kan, at the eighth or ninth station. We ate a bento (box) lunch at the fifth station at noon on the July 3 and climbed all afternoon to the lodge. We had dinner and killed time until going to bed around 8 pm. It was not hard to fall asleep, we were dead tired. We woke up about 3 am to have breakfast and resume climbing. As we awoke we could hear bells and see flashlights of climbers who had been climbing through the night. The sun rises early at high elevations so we were on the trail by 3:30. The estimated time to the top wa 45-60 minutes. We saw a sliver of red at dawn, just before we reached the top, but the top of the mountain was wrapped in clouds and we couldn't see much of anything at the very top. We spent a few hours at the top, waiting for the clouds to clear (they did eventually), walking in the crater, getting photos at the very highest point, etc. Eventually we headed down, collected our things from the Tomoe-kan and hiked down. The down hill is less than half of the time of the up hill (and not very picturesque). We arrived back at the fifth station around noon, almost exactly 24 hours after we had started climbing.

chrisb

Tag,

Do you need to make a reservation to stay at the hut? This is what I expect I'll do. I'll take the train from Kyoto, and hopefully start hiking around noon and reach the hut by early evening. I'll then get up in time to make it to the top to see the sun rise.

tag

Chris, I don't know that you need to have a reservation, though I suppose it is wise to have one. We did. But as I noted in my last post, the day we climbed was not busy. Our climbing party of three (my uncle, my daughter and myself) were the only guests at the lodge. If someone had popped in without a reservation I imagine they could have stayed too. But since everything must be packed in (food, water, fuel) the innkeepers may not be able to handle too many unexpected guests. Certainly if you plan to climb on a weekend or later in the month when you could anticipate more crowds I would recommend a reservation.

Now, don't ask me how to make a reservation. My Japanese uncle took care of all the arrangements for us. All we had to do was climb. I do recall that as we climbed we passed the various "stations" or levels. We knew our inn was at the ninth station so when we got there we heaved a great sigh (pant) of relief. Then we learned that the inn had no reservation for us. They suggested that we try the next inn. We found that the ninth station had several levels. I think it was finally the third lodge that acknowledged our reservation and welcomed us in. In the end we were glad to have climbed another hundred meters higher the first day; it left us with less climbing in the morning. But it gave us a start to be told on a cold mountain in the dwindling daylight that, "No. We have no reservation under that name."

Speaking of cold mountains in dwindling light, you need certain basic supplies for the climb. You will want to carry bottles of water to drink, a flashlight for the early morning climb (or visit to the outhouse) and warm clothes for the high elevation cold and wind. Let me know if you want more detailed advice on what to expect/bring. And remember, if you plan to spend the night before finishing the climb you need not be in a hurry to get to the lodge. Take your time. Rest frequently and enjoy the changing view and terrain. The air gets thinner and thinner as you climb. Take it slowly.

flygirl

chrisb, good luck! this was also on my list of things I gotta do before I die. that and Kilimanjaro. let us know how it goes...