K-chan on the summit of Fuji san

So here comes the long waited post!
What do you do after finishing a killing semester?
Ofcourse, GO ON A BIG ADVENTURE!!

Finally I had the honor to stand on the top of my beloved Fuji san, 3776m of elevation, the ultimate highest point in Japan!
Fujisan on Wikipedia

Nice shot taken from the bus

Sunday July 19th 7:45 am -> Assembly at Shinjuku station
Then move by bus to the Fuji san 5th station (富士山五合目) .. around 4 to 5 hours (?). Highways were crowded that day so it took a long time to arrive.
So reaching the 5th station, what are you waiting for? LET'S GO!!!

Participants : It's easy to find me, the most Japan enthusiastic even among Japanese! The girls are from OCHA NO MIZU women's university, the man to the left in the background is their professor (a TOP athelete! and was a student of my professor some years ago), the guy in the front is from the same lab as mine. There were also other participants from a 3rd university and an OB from our lab..so total around 17 people 80%of which are girls.

It is said that you can experience the 4 seasons while you are climbing Fujisan. And that was totally true! .. The more you climb, the more clothes you start putting on. The weather on the top was officially winter! many layers of sweaters, 3 pairs of trousers, gloves, scarf and a warm hat...all of this and I was trembling in cold.

After the 6th station by around 1 hour

I didn't realise how much was hidden in the clouds at that time.. Still near the 6th station!
Toooo many people made moving forward a slow process.. It was dangerously crowded at steep places..I was imagining if only one person slips down, he will take hundreds with him!


The amazing sunrays from whithn the clouds..about to reach the 7th sation

The climbing process was divided into 2 parts:
First day we keep moving until sunset time.. reaching around the 7th station and rest for about 4 hours in one of the mountain huts (..which looked to me rather like a war shelter! ).
Then at around 11PM the night of that same day we move again to reach the top by sunrise.

View from the front of the mountain hut at sunset

When we were about to reach the 7th station (when we started entering that big cloud above), it started to rain. Oops, I didn't prepare myself for rain! If you get wet, you will freeze before reaching the top and it was already getting chilly!
..But luckily, it took less than an hour to reach the mountain hut. And when we moved again that night, rain had stopped, no more clouds at that elevation, but instead very very strong wind was blowing!
The night view of the surrounding cities was amazing.
What's more amazing was the starry sky view! I've never seen stars as clear and as DENSE as that day. I was also lucky to see 2 shooting stars.

Hard times ~ SURVIVAL

I could not sleep well in the mountain hut..I think it was the same for everyone, so when we moved again I started to feel REALLY sleepy..which was REALLY dangerous..

Also as you move up, oxygen level gets low so it becomes hard to breath and you get tired and dizzy easily..luckily many members brought oxygen spray cans.. I think no body would have been able to go on without them. Personally I needed it tens of times.
We were literaly on a survival trip..
You really get dead tired.. so you stop by and relax there on the freezing ground in the raging wind..then you start to chill so you know you need to move to get warm eventhough you are dead tired...and so on..

Wind was getting stronger and stronger, and in each blow you get stinged in the face by the volcanic ashes it carries.
We also had to pass by many narrow and steep areas where one mistake would cost you your life.
Actually, It was scary to see some people condition getting bad along the way.. After we left the hut, I looked back at the distance we moved so far and looked up at the enormous remaining distance, I realised there was NO GO BACK.. You just have to move forward.
I was praying all the time to stay healthy at least until we reach the top since I was reaching my limits!

Amazing Reward ご来光

Thank God, everybody reached the top with no serious illness!
We were rewarded by the most beautiful scene I've ever seen in my life.
The view of the rising sun from the top of Fuji san in the country of the rising sun （T▽T）

People still arriving all with sleepy and tired faces
This is not the actual summit. There was still around 200 meters to the top, but this was a good point to stop and enjoy the rising sun.


Pro photographers getting ready!


Alright everyone, sit down and get ready!

Here it comes!! The very first "Piece" of sun

Thinking of this, weren't we the first people on the planet to see the sun of July 20th? (^_^)

On the way DOWN ~ REVIVAL

Everybody started to get better and got revived after the sun rise .. I really felt very good as we went down, eventhough it was really tough to walk the ash covered path down the mountain...but still easier than the way up.
I was really looking forward to feel the summer heat again!

The path down the mountain

Trying different angles

Going back to the cloud level. An interesting hole in the clouds

The after math

With all the hardships, risks and tough times we went through, I don't regret going in this trip for a second. I'm glad I decided to go and more glad that I came back safe to enjoy summer again! To tell the truth I was never such happy to hear the sounds of cicada again!
I SURVIVED and I am a much stronger person now!!(≧▽≦)

This post is brought to you by : K-chan(c)
All rights reserved!

See you next post! And don't forget to COMMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!