Tips on Hiking Mount Fuji

One of the quintessential images of Japan, Fuji is a mountain and hike well worth the acclaim bestowed upon it. Standing tall at 3,776 meters, this active volcano offers views unlike any other in Japan and a hike that's challenging enough to push your limits, but not so difficult as to keep away amateur hikers. Along with Mount Tate and Mount Haku, Fuji is considered one of the three Holy Mountains of Japan, and should be treated accordingly. This hike isn't too difficult, but damn well deserves respect and is underestimated at the hiker's peril.

While there are certainly some wrong ways to hike Fuji, there isn't one out and out right way to do it. This guide isn't meant to be taken as gospel so much as a collection of the resources I gathered while researching the hike and a few tips on the route I wound up taking. What the best route is for you will depend on how experienced of a hiker you are, what kind of shape you're in, and honestly how long you want to hike.

HIKING SEASON

Fuji is only open for a brief window throughout the year for hikers to summit. A rough guide would be early July through mid-September, but it varies every year depending on snow conditions and temperatures.  Clearly this means August is one of the better months to plan ahead for, but be aware of the Obon Festival should you choose to go during August. Obon is an annual Buddhist festival to pay tribute to one's ancestors and is celebrated around the 15th of August. This means the 15th and the three or four days following it will see a colossal increase in the already considerable number of people hiking Fuji. There will be lines. It won't be fun.

TRAIL OPTIONS

Fuji offers four different trial options with varying hike times, starting elevation, and overall difficulty. Each trail has its own benefits and drawbacks. I'll layout the basics and then give my two cents on the route I wanted to go and the one I wound up taking.

Yoshida Course - This is the most popular route as it’s easily accessible from Tokyo Station.

• Begin at Kawaguchicho 5th Station (2305 meters). This is the most developed of all 5th stations with parking lots, coin lockers and a few restaurants and shops where you can stock up on reasonably priced items.
• 6.8 km hike that takes roughly 6.5 hours up and 3.5 hours down with a 21.6% grade elevation gain.

Subashiri Course - The second easiest to access by public transit from Tokyo and eventually merges with the Yoshida Course. 

• Begin at Subashiri 5th Station (2000 meters). Subashiri only offers a parking lot, toilets and two small shops and restaurants. 
• 6.8 km hike that takes roughly 7 hours up and 3.5 hours down with a 26.1% grade elevation gain.
• Merges with the Yoshida Course after the 8th Station to the summit.
• This is one of only two courses to offer a "sand run" on its descent. During this portion of the trail it's possible to descend in minutes what took hours to climb by literally running down vast stretches. 

Gotemba Course - The longest of the four routes available and more difficult to access by public transit.

• Begin at Gotemba 5th Station (1440 meters). The least developed of the 5th stations, but still offers a small shop, bus stop, toilets and a parking lot.
• 7.8 km hike that takes roughly 7.5 hours up and 3.5 hours down with a 29.9% grade elevation gain.
• Unlike Yoshida and Subashiri, the Gotemba Course summits Fuji from the West and never merges with another trail.
• Like Subashiri, Gotemba has a "sand run" on its descent after its 7th Station where runners can cover up to 1,100 meters in just over an hour!

Fujinomiya Course - The shortest of the four courses available and furthest West.

• Begin at Fujinomiya 5th Station (2400 meters). The second most popular and second most developed of the four 5th Stations on Mount Fuji.
• 5 km hike that takes roughly 4.5 hours up and 2.5 hours down with a 27.5% grade elevation gain.
• Easier access for those heading to Fuji from Osaka.
• Also offers a short hike to Hoeizan, a secondary peak with a crater on the southeastern slope of Mount Fuji.

That's the briefest of overviews and I'd highly recommend checking out Gary J. Wolff's amazingly thorough site for more specific information on each trail and a ton of Q&As as well.

MY ROUTE

For my specific trek, I decided to forgo the sleeping huts and hike straight through the night. This isn't what's officially recommended, but I have a friend who did the over night hike and suggested I do the same. I was more than happy to oblige mainly because the sleeping huts are roughly $50 a night and pack people into large rooms like sardines where sleep would not come easily for me anyway. However, if you're a stronger, deeper sleeper than I, the recommended course of action is to climb to a mountain hut around the 7th or 8th station on the first day and spend a few hours sleeping before summiting early on the second day. The sun rises between 4:30am and 5:00am during the hiking season, so that would mean waking up around 2:00am for a brief 2-2.5 hour climb to the top and honestly that sounded worse to me than just plowing through the night. Fair warning here: 2:00am to 4:30am was rough for me. The combination of sleep deprivation and lack of oxygen as I got higher beat me up a bit, but offered a rather meditative couple of hours where I could really only focus on my breathing and putting one foot in front of the other. During wasn't so much fun, but afterwards I was grateful for the experience.

As for the specific route, I wanted to hike the Gotemba Course since I'm a relatively experienced hiker and wanted the challenge of summiting from the longest course with the steepest grade. Additionally, I really wanted to do the sand run on the way down! However, the combination of travel plans earlier that day and bus schedules put me on another course (more on that in the Transportation section). Instead I wound up doing the Subashiri Course and found it quite enjoyable overall.

Subashiri Course Pros

• Good stations all the way up. The 5th station has a restaurant and quite a bit of hiking gear if you need it. That's where I bought my headlamp (highly highly recommended) and a walking stick (also recommended). The two items combined cost me about $30, but I was very happy to have both on the hike. (more on these in the Equipment section)
• The last bus into this station arrives around 7:00pm, so you can eat a meal, let it digest, and then start your hike and comfortably make it to the top in time for the sunrise while also taking a few breaks. It's about 5-5.5 hours of actual hiking to the summit if breaks and waiting in lines near the summit aren't factored in.
• I didn't eat at the station because I'm a cheap ass and brought my own food. So on the way up I just took a 15 or 20 minute nap in a dark corner at each station, which was totally fine. No one bothered me or told me that I couldn't sleep outside. I never really slept much, but it was enough to re-energize me and get me to the next station.
• Lovely desolate and wooded area to start the hike. Saw very few people for the first 3-4 hours and spent quite a bit of time gazing up at one of the best starry nights I've seen.
• The sand run! As one of only two courses offering the sand run, I couldn't be happier to have chosen this route as a backup. There was a section that took me an hour to get up, but only about 15 thrilling minutes to run down. Running down the mountain was one of the most riveting and flat out enjoyable parts of this hike for me. Taking giant leaps and sprinting far faster than I ever could on flat land while veering around other hikers and occasional rocks was an adrenaline rush that definitely woke me up after a long night of hiking. You can only do this on the Subashiri or Gotema route, so choose wisely!

Subashiri Course Con

• As mentioned, Subashiri meets up with Yoshida after the eighth station, and it was rough. The last two hours of my ascent was spent in a line with the overcrowded Yoshida mob that made me feel like herded cattle. I made the hike on a week day and it was still tremendously busy. If you're planning a weekend hike, I'd imagine it far worse.

Overall, I would recommend Gotemba or Subashiri. Yoshida is the main one from Tokyo and will always be packed, and Fujinomiya is only 4 hours, which doesn't do Fuji justice in my opinion.

TRANSPORATION

This map from Deep Japan offers a great view of the the four courses and the main public transit stations surrounding them. All of the stations are easy enough to access via the bus and will run anywhere from 1,540 to 3,100 yen ($15-$31) for a round trip that varies in duration based on the the 5th Station you choose to start your hike from. Japan Guide has a full breakdown of all bus possibilities, prices, and any other information you could need HERE.

Aside from bus timetables, Mt. Fuji Explorer offers a detailed breakdown of how to approach the mountain from numerous cities.

MY ROUTE

I came to Fuji from Osaka on the JR Shinkansen Line and headed to Gotemba Station since that's the only place to catch a bus to Gotemba 5th Station. This meant taking the Shinkansen for a few hours to Mishima and then transferring to local JR trains to wrap back to Gotemba Station. The whole trip took about 3.5 hours and gave me plenty of time to nap and read a bit.

Should you plan on doing the Gotemba Course, take note that the last bus leaves Gotemba Station at 4:40pm, which would get you to the 5th Station at roughly 5:30pm. If you're planning on hiking through the night, that leaves roughly three hours to kill at the least developed station on the mountain to time the hike properly for sunrise. Still, there is a spot to get some food and as mentioned above, napping at each station is fine. Had I arrived at Gotemba Station off the JR a little earlier in the day I still would've gone this route, but it was late in the day and I would've had to rush a bit too much to make the 4:40pm bus.


EQUIPMENT

This is where the "respect" for Fuji comes in. While it's not an overly difficult hike, it will be excessively miserable should you not pack properly. Here's a list of the basics:

• Hiking Shoes -  It's a rocky and steep trek in many parts and proper shoes that offer ankle support are highly recommended. Additionally, it's quite cold and drizzly at the top, so waterproof is ideal.
• Clothing Layers - The temperature decreases by 0.6°C (33°F) as elevation increases by 100 meters and Fuji is nearly 4,000 meters above sea level, so it's tremendously cold at the top regardless of the season. So even if it's 30°C at the start of your hike, expect it to be closer to 7°C or lower at the top. Add in the strong winds, and the real feel is even lower. For this reason, it's crucial to bring multiple layers of clothes to add on the way up and shed on the way down. Here's what I'd recommend:
• Rain Gear - A proper waterproof coat will be your best friend after the 8th Station.
• Gloves - Necessary towards the top and nice to have to prevent blisters from the hiking stick.
• Thermal Layer - Start with a thin thermal layer for the lower elevation and add from there.
• Warm Pants - This is where I made my mistake. I hoofed it up to the top in my summer hiking pants and wound up putting on the shorts I had in my bag and used an extra shirt as a "blanket" while watching the sunrise. 
• Winter Hat - Doesn't take up a lot of room in the pack and will be quite welcome at the summit. 
• Thick Socks - If you're not getting this by now, it's cold at the top. Dress warm.
• Bandanda/Mask - The descent is quite dusty and you'll be chewing a lot of ash/dirt if you don't cover your mouth. 
• Head Lamp - While a regular ol flashlight could do the trick, I'd highly recommend springing for a headlamp to keep both hands free while hiking. Bit of a pain to hold a flashlight for a full 6-7 hour hike in the dark. 
• Food - As mentioned, there's food available at the stations, but the prices are insane. Plan on bringing two meals and several energy bars and/or high protein snacks to give you energy. Luckily Japan has legitimately tasty convenience store food available almost everywhere to pick up. I'd also suggest picking up a few canned coffee drinks for the 1:30am-4:30am slog that's easily the roughest part of the hike.
• Water - Recommend at least two liters for the hike, and would suggest a bit more if you have room in your pack.
• Money - Bathrooms are usually 200 yen and only take 100 yen coins, so plan ahead and save up some change in the earlier part of your trip. Also, some of the huts take cards, but it's a much better idea to have cash on hand.
• Hiking Stick - I'm not usually one to take a hiking stick with me, but it was helpful during the tired moments on the way up, and tremendously helpful to keep my footing on the way down. I used a stick that was more akin to Gandalf's staff than hiking stick, but I was grateful to have it on the descent. If you have $15 to spare, pick one of these up at the basecamp. You won't regret it.
• Med Kit - For any cuts or other ailments you may encounter along the way. 
• Trash Bag - There are no trash cans on Fuji, so you must take all of your trash with you when you leave.
• Toilet Paper - Ya never know.

This was a hike and experience on par with nothing I've ever done before, and I can't recommend it highly enough. If you have any questions, or see something I've left out, please feel free to leave a comment below!