Climbing Mount Fuji by Yoshida trail

Mt.Fuji Yoshida trail /Yoshida-guchi route [吉田口ルート]

Climbing from Yamanashi prefecture, starting from the 5th station
It is said it's easiest route to climb Mt.Fuji.
Most of Mt.Fuji tours climb Yoshida trail.

Mt. Fuji is 3,776.24m (12,388 ft) high.
Mount Fuji is designated as UNESCO World Heritage site.

We arrived with tour bus.

 

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We climbed from the 5th station [Japanese: 五合目] of Mt. Fuji
 by Yoshida trail (Yoshida-guchi route) [Japanese: 吉田口ルート] 

 

  

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We kept climbing in the dark.

 

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Sunrise view from the top of Mt.Fuji.

 It was cloudy.

 

The snow still remained around the summit.
 

 

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We went down after watching the sunrise.

 

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We took a tour bus.

Episode of our first Climbing Mt.Fuji by Yoshida trail

Tomo&Chouchou experienced climbing Mount Fuji by Yoshida trail. 

We joined the Mt.Fuji tour organized by French association. We went to the 5th station of Mt.Fuji in Yamanashi from Tokyo by bus at night. There was a French organizer who knew well about climbing Mt.Fuji. He just explained the route roughly. We had to climb by ourselves.
We started climbing around 23pm so we used our head lamps.
Mt. Fuji is a volcano, so it is covered with lots of rocks. The trail is also covered with rocks. So it was tiring to walk and climb.
During climbing Mt. Fuji by Yoshida trail, we did't see the trees. It was also dark so we couldn't see any scenery from the mountain. We only saw the grey rocks. We just needed to keep walking. Then, Tomo suddenly had a stomachache on the way to go up. We decided to take a rest a little bit. On the day we climbed Mt.Fuji, it was very windy. Probably Tomo lost the energy faster and got cold. After drinking something hot, Tomo felt better. We started to climb again. More we approached the top of Mt.Fuji, more strongly the wind was blowing. The strong wind pushed us a lot. It was a little bit scary, but we made effort not to be pushed out from the trail.

Many people climb Mt.Fuji at night to be able to see the sunrise on the top of the mountain. So the trail to the summit of Mt.Fuji was very crowded around the sunrise. Group hike tours blocked the trail. It was difficult to pass them and go forward. We were struggling to see the sunrise on the top of the mountain.
Then, it started to be bright little by little. We expected to see the great sunrise. But there were clouds on that day. However we could see the special sunrise with the clouds. The layer of clouds were colored with several colors. It was not the perfect sunrise but it was fantastic. We also got the sense of achievement. We could be proud of climbing the highest mountain in Japan!

It was difficult for Tomo to go down. Downhill was steep slant with stones. It was slippery and scary. Tomo was slow to go down, but we were running out of time to catch the tour bus. We remembered the French organizer said, "We will not wait for you if you are late for the departure time.". So we hurried a lot. Tomo speeded up to go down with two hiking sticks. We could manage to catch the tour bus.

It was tough hike. But especially for Tomo, she could discover her new ability and strongness. We had a very valuable experience by climbing Mt.Fuji.
If you have an opportunity, please try to climb the highest mountain in Japan once in your life! We are sure that you will feel sense of achievement if you succeed it.

P.S. We are now thinking to challenge Mt.Fuji again to see the perfect sunrise! :-)

 

Tomo&Chouchou's advice for climbing Mt.Fuji

1) Mt. Fuji is 3,776.24m (12,388 ft) high so it's said that we may get altitude sickness. So we ate oxygen tablets while climbing. Then we were fine. We advise you to bring something for oxygen or hike slowly. 

2) Yoshida trail is very crowded around the summit. If you really want to see the sunrise on the top of Mt.Fuji, you had better go by yourself not with the big group tour, you had better arrive the summit earlier than the group tour, or you had better climb other trails except Yoshida trail. 

3) Around the summit, the temperature is really cold. With wind, we feel much colder than the real temperature. Please bring something to protect against cold. 

4) We learned that climbing in the windy condition was tough and we lost energy more. Please check the weather carefully. Change the date, if possible, when the weather is bad.

5) Climbing Mt. Fuji is not that difficult. We just need to have physical strength and to prepare the health condition before climbing. Simply just keep your own pace and go slowly. No rush.

Tomo&Chouchou's request

Since 2013, Mount Fuji has been designated as UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

Please keep Mt.Fuji clean and bring back your garbage. Let's protect Mt.Fuji together!

 
information
Climbing season: From beginning of July to beginning of September

Here is the official website for climbing Mount Fuji by Yoshida trail. There is a map in several languages.
http://www.fujisan-climb.jp/en/trails/yoshida.html

Mt.Myoken New Year's sunrise hike

On January 1st.

Meeting point: Myokenguchi station 

of Myoken line of Nose Electric Railway

[Japanese: 能勢電鉄妙見線妙見口駅}

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We started to climb Mt.Myoken [Japanese: 妙見山] in the early morning.

It was still dark outside.

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We arrived the top of Mt.Myoken.

We waited for the first sunrise.

First sunrise of Mt.Myoken

[Japanese: Myokenzan; 妙見山]. 

We could see the sunrise slightly through the clouds. 

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near the top of Mt.Myoken

Nose-Myokendo [Japanese: 能勢妙見堂]

Official name: Murosan-shinnyoji-keigaibutsudō-nosemyokenzan,

[Japanese: 無漏山真如寺境外仏堂能勢妙見山]

We found "Furumai zake"(=Free sake) while we were going down.

There was zenzai too. 

Around there, there was a fire (=Takibi; 焚き火).

While eating and drinking, we could warm up with a fire.

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We went down the mountain.

We went to the station to go back.

Episode of Mt.Myoken hike

Tomo&Chouchou went hiking to Mt. Myoken 妙見山(or Myoken-san or Myoken-zan) for sunrise of New Year's Day !
Mt.Myoken is located from Kawanishi-city in Hyogo prefecture [Japanese: 兵庫県川西市] to Toyono-cho, Toyono-gun in Osaka [Japanese: 大阪府豊能郡豊能町] and Nose-cho in Osaka prefecture [Japanese: 大阪府能勢町].
Mt. Myoken hike for sunrise of New Year's Day is organized by the Nose Electric Railway Co. Ltd. [能勢電鉄].
Meeting point was at Myoken-guchi station [Japanese: 妙見口駅] of Myoken line of Nose Electric Railway [Japanese: 能勢電鉄妙見線] in the early morning on Jan. 1st..
Everybody climbed Mt. Myoken with each pace. Our walking course was along the stream. The hiking course was close to the water, so it was very cold. The slope to go up the mountain was very steep. Even it was very cold, we sweated a lot.
Hiking road was very dark. Head light helped us a lot to find the hiking road.

We could arrive on the top of the mountain before the sun rises. However,  unfortunately, we couldn't see the sunrise because of the clouds. Anyway we could see the sunrise slightly and we could feel refreshed !
Near the top of Mt. Myoken, there is a temple of Nichiren Shū 日蓮宗/Nichiren School which is called "Nose-Myokendo; 能勢妙見堂", official name "Murosan-shinnyoji-keigaibutsudō-nosemyokenzan; （無漏山真如寺境外仏堂能勢妙見山)".
Right after watching sunrise of New Year's Day, we went to Hatsumōde.
 (Hatsumōde is the first temple visit of the New Year's day.)
After praying at the temple, Tomo&Chouchou decided to take another walking course. While we were going down, we found "Furumai zake"(=Free sake)!
We were very happy to be served for free ! There were not only Amazake (sweet sake), but also Zenzai!
 (Zenzai is a sweet porridge of azuki beans boiled and crushed, served in a bowl with mochi (=Japanese rice cake).) Around there, there was a fire. While eating and drinking, we could warm up with a fire.
After our heart and body were warmed up, Tomo&Chouchou kept going down. We had to take a cable car to go down for that walking course. There were lots of people waiting for the cable car. We didn't want to wait for a long time so we decided to go down with other walking courses. Going down the mountain in the morning was not difficult. It was much easier than going up the mountain at night.

It was the first time for Tomo&Chouchou to climb the mountain on the New Year's day. Normally we stay home and visit a shrine near the house. But it was a very "New" year for us. It was refreshing . We could really feel the beginning of the year and new start. Unfortunatelly we could see the beautiful perfect sunrise but it was a good experience!

Tomo&Chouchou's advices for Mt.Myoken hike

1) Walking course is along the stream. The hiking course is close to the water, so please go with warm clothes ! But please wear something easy to dry for inner clothes. Because to go up the mountain, the slope is very steep, so that you easily sweat.
2) Please don't forget to bring a head light because it is a hike in the dark.
3) Even if you cannot see the sunrise, you can see the primeval forest of Japanese beech which is nominated as Osaka natural environmental preservation zone. It's worth to hike.
4) Right after watching sunrise of New Year's Day, you can go directly to Hatsumōde, so it's convenient.
 (Hatsumōde is the first temple visit of the New Year's day.)
5) If you don't want to wait to take a cable car and you still have energy, you can go down with other walking courses.
6) If hiking is too tough for you to see the sunrise, you can also go up to the mountain by car or cable car.
To go by cable car, 
Take a Hankyu bus [阪急バス] until the bus stop "cable mae teiryujyo [ケーブル前停留所]" -->Take Myoken Cable till "Kurokawa" station [妙見ケーブル黒川駅] -->Transfer to Myoken lift [妙見リフト] -->Walk around 300m -->you will arrive in front of Torii [鳥居前]. (torii is a gateway at the entrace to a Shinto shrine.)