To the Top of Mount Fuji

Mount Fuji from a lift in Hakone

Mount Fuji's kind of the natural icon of Japan, figuring in all manner of historic paintings and drawing admiration for its almost perfect conical shape. Not only is Mount Fuji the tallest mountain in the country, towering at over 3700 meters, but it can also be seen from Tokyo, more than 100 kilometers away, on a clear day, given a proper vantage point and a little luck. The damn thing's huge, and it's therefore no wonder that people from inside and outside Japan set off to climb it every year, during Summer when the frost melts and the coast is clear for a good ascent.
 

My headband says Kamikaze.

Alas! Mount Fuji has finally been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO (something most people have been wondering as to why it hadn't been done earlier.) And although the Japanese can take great pride in this, it also means that tourism will undoubtedly increase and that measures must be taken to keep the mountain clean. Therefore the price of the hike will be going from free this year to 7000¥ (say it with me, seven thousand yen) starting next year. So what the fuck, let's climb it now.
Taking after Aala, who did the same thing last year, Ken and I have endeavored to climb the mountain overnight to reach the sunrise in the morning.

Truth be told, the climb really isn't terrible. It can be done with minimal (if any) equipment, barring the necessary warm clothes for the summit. We started from the halfway point at Station 5 (one of many station 5s, that is) and took just around four and a half hours to make the top, taking ample breaks here and there - although most hikers do take more time. Numerous stations, providing shelter for those staying overnight and food for resting hikers, line the path to the summit, but prices do get steep the higher one climbs.
A mere bottle of coke at the summit costs 500¥, but even more ridiculous still is that you have to pay to use bathrooms, for a price going up to 200¥. Oxygen, slightly scarcer in the air near the top of the mountain, is also sold through inhalers. Despite the price, though, the availability of these commodities makes the climb a little more comfortable for inexperienced hikers.
 Ken and I arrived at the top at 2:30 in the morning, arriving far earlier than expected, having rushed for fear that we would encounter a single-file line near the top.

We were rewarded with a cloud!

Unfortunately, we had rolled poor luck: despite having had to sit in the cold (an estimated 2 to 3 degrees centigrade) for quite a while, we were not given the epic sunrise we had hoped for, as the morning was cloudy...for us only. We literally were stuck inside a massive cloud swirling around the top of the volcano. Hundreds of fellow climbers, Japanese and foreigners alike, shared our disappointment. We had taken the gamble and failed.
However, all was not bad! The spirit of kinship once sitting at the top of the mountain amongst so many other hikers having shared the same effort was abundant, overflowing. Strangers at the top greeted each other and engaged in friendly conversation, and Ken and I made a few friends at the top as well. We met Raymond and Ricky, two Asian-Americans from Los Angeles and Montreal respectively (my first time meeting another Montrealer!)

Ricky, Raymond, myself and Ken.

After a few hours rest, our newly-formed group of four decided to take the trail down the mountain. Once under the clouds, the view was much more rewarding, and it truly felt like we were on top of the whole nation. All in all, it was a good experience. A decent-level physical challenge, an opportunity to establish new friendships and a great panorama (you'll get one sooner or later) definitely make of Mount Fuji a memorable experience.