Comments on: Japan’s Mount Fuji: Following the Path of Pilgrims

By: Audrey Scott

Audrey Scott — Tue, 28 Jun 2016 11:44:08 +0000

In reply to Melissa. Hi Melissa, Great to hear you're interested in doing a similar Mt. Fuji trek! I remember the route being quite well-marked, so I don't think that you would need a guide. There are both regular buses from Station Five, as well as taxis, so you should have several transport. I remember them running every 30-45 minutes, but that was a few years ago. Check with your Ryokan as they might have the schedule for buses. Good luck and enjoy!

By: Melissa

Melissa — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 01:07:58 +0000

Loved reading about your climb! Heading to Mt Fui, from Tokyo with my daughter this July. We don’t have time to climb to the summit as we originally wanted to, so I thought this route would be unique and special in another way! Can you tell me about how long it took you? Do you thinker need a guide? Where would I find one? Cost? Once at 5th station how easy is it to get a ride down to Hakone? Are there busses, taxis, other options? We need to make sure we are at our Ryokan in Hakone by 530 pm. So planning an early start! Looking forward to hearing from you- all advice is appreciated!

By: Matt Muench

Matt Muench — Tue, 10 May 2016 15:00:20 +0000

I will say this much. I took the bus to the 5th Station, wish I did take the full hike from the bottom starting point. However, the view at the 5th Station wasn’t my goal… the view from the top was. I did have travel time restraints and didn’t really feel like starting all the way from Kawaguchiko. This was just a few days ago here in May 2016 and of course they always say the trails are closed for all months except July and August. Well… I wasn’t going to be here then so May was the time to go for it.

Now I’ve been learning many things from world travel. One of which is when a group of people tell you don’t go somewhere you should always question “why?” The logical reason is because of the weather conditions. The spiritual reason however may be very different. During the Summer Fuji has thousands of hikers and climbers going to the summit day in and day out. Yet when I went up in May I literally was the only person all alone on the Yoshida Trail. It was… ungorgettable to say the least. Man V.s. Mountain. I hiked up as far as I could, then put on some crampons to deal with the ice. Slept up there in the night with no mountain hut, sleeping bag or tent (horrible lol.) Then went up to the top at 1:30 in the morning to catch the sunrise before 4:30 a.m. I pushed myself further and further, the weather got colder, the wind became stronger, the summit became steeper and the Ice harder. Literally I was only 100 yards from the top but Fuji San did everything it could to stop me. After taking a leap of faith towards a Rock and missing it sliding down hill full speed barely stopping myself. I tried this 3 times failing before my logic kicked in and said this is it… you don’t have the right gear or experience to Summit this mountain no matter how close you are. A tough pill to swallow. Getting down Icy hills from up at 3500 meters was an entirely different Adventure in itself.

My point is it seems there are deeper reasons for the climbing season. A time where the trail will be jam packed with hundreds of tourists… yet during the off season it was only me. Like as if you will be learning two different life lessons from the Journey. The easier one when Fuji is at his weakest in the Summer and the harder one when Fuji San is at his strongest for the other 10 months…

Your writing is great! Keep it up, I hope everyone on this thread gets to have their own great memory in Japan with Fuji San! 🙂

By: Daniel Noll

Daniel Noll — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 04:59:59 +0000

@Rosy: Thanks so much for the compliment! Great to see you here.

By: Rosy Kottman

Rosy Kottman — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 06:50:50 +0000

Ever since I found your blog, I have loved your posts. Now that I realize you are a fellow UCF alum, I love them even more. You two are doing amazing things. Such wisdom. Keep it up!

By: Audrey Scott

Audrey Scott — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 09:14:25 +0000

@Dan: Walking in nature with time and space to process is one of the best ways we’ve found to think about things and gain perspective. I’m sorry to hear of what you’ve been through and hope that you find peace again in your life and relationships.

@Nick: Given how expensive everything else is in Japan, it’s a minor miracle that this trek is free. Hope you enjoy it!

By: Nick - Goats On The Road

Nick - Goats On The Road — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 03:43:15 +0000

Wow, very well written post and cool article. Its good to know that you can do it for free. We’ll be looking forward to checking out fuji sometime soon! Thanks for the post!

By: Dan Turick

Dan Turick — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 05:49:16 +0000

Its been along road and still living in my past with a real great guy, but I think its over. He kept telling me to see the forest from the trees. I have been so caught up in my past, negitive, and the pain I do not know how to let go. I never really thought about the world around me, What has happen can not be changed, But I can change this time now. I used to walk in the nature and would find it peaceful. I am going to take what you said to try and hopefully I can find the peace with in myself. No one deserves this stressful life of my past specially my guy who has more on his shoulders then me. Thank you for this !!! Hopefully my fight will be over and the peace I want in my life begins.

By: Audrey Scott

Audrey Scott — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 18:58:33 +0000

@Lauren: While the top is closed in April, the rest of the mountain should be open for trekking. You can take a bus to the base where the temple is – be sure to add extra time in for visiting. It was one of our favorite temples in Japan. Good luck and enjoy!

By: Lauren

Lauren — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 09:05:37 +0000

This is great! I’ll be visiting in April and I had read that it would be closed but there was no mention of the option of a hike from the base to the 5th station. Very useful, thanks!