The button was clicked to purchase an overnight bus trip to Tokyo at 1:38AM on another heavy summer Tuesday night - I was going to climb Mt Fuji.
Two weeks and many “Here’s How to Survive Mt Fuji” Youtubes later, I climbed on my overnight bus carrying only a backpack stuffed with winter gear, hiking sticks and an odd assortment of snacks one could only get in Japan: dried squid squares, rice candy red-bean cake and grass mochi daifuku. The dried squid was to sustain me throughout the climb, and my red-bean goods were my motivators for the peak as I had big plans for them…they would be my feast while watching the infamous Mt Fuji sunrise, titled Goraikou ご来光 in Japanese。
The following day was me trying to get to Mount Fuji’s 5th Station, which is the most common starting point for the Yoshida Trail climb (this is the most used climb because it is considered the easiest and the direct path to see the Goraikou) Though outrageous downpours and long bus waits made the journey just to the starting point a little tricky, I got to the 5th station early and waited until 9PM for my ascent. An overpriced but extremely satisfying meatbun helped make the wait easier.
5th station at 7pm...getting ready to start in 2 hours
the station to get to the fifth station
my $4 lunch with such GOOOD boiled dumplings and miso and rice and beansprout saladddd
my $5 breakfast of Japanese congee!!
And then, I climbed. And my climb in four words: cold, dark, steadily slow. But of course, the night was so much more than these four words.
Yes, it was cold, but what a clear and refreshing cold (especially after being in Yakage’s mucky humidity for the past 2 months) kept alive by the steady gusts of wind.
Yes, it was dark, but it was a dark enhancing one of the most infinitely star-studded skies. Never had I seen a sky so vast and so seemingly full of the world…it was truly like an upside down sea whose waters were held above me by gravity.
Yes, it was slow, but eh, no fancy words for this. I made sure to take it slow because that was the one piece of advice I was told about 500 times. This was to ensure I could acclimate to the higher altitude's thinning oxygen levels. Surely enough, slow and steady wins the race because I had no problem getting to the top besides some of the rocky vertical parts…no headache, wheezing, etc. which was a yippee for me!
One of the best parts of the climb was the camaraderie felt on the mountain–I suppose when everyone has a destination as momentous as the Goraikou, everyone is super willing to help each other out. I met a kind lady who encouraged my solo trip with a small piece of candy, was cheered on by a grandma clapping for me when struggling up another steep set of rocks, and brought into a group of mid-30’s Japanese guys for the last quarter of the climb…their energy filled with “GANBARE! WASSHOI! GUMMY BEAR WANT?” made the final half way more fun than what I expect solo would’ve been. Plus, hearing their story–best friends from preschool coming together for the first time after covid to climb Mt Fuji in celebration of one of them getting married–added another layer of significance to the climb. Who would have thought I’d be included in a Japanese bachelor party on my climb up Mt Fuji? They had a video camera running the whole time and even brought suits up the mountain to wear together during the Goraikou.
we were racing against the start of the day...this was while still climbing and i was quite the nervous wreck!
this is at the 8.5 station...you can see the colorful array of climbers all getting ready for the final few kms.
Despite starting early and feeling swell throughout the night, it was still a race against the sun towards the top…there was more traffic on Mt Fuji’s last 200m than in all of Yakage because all 1000 climbers, now including the overnight hut climbers, were trying to get to the top at the same time, using the same skinny/one person wide trail.
In honesty, this pressure made the final minutes even more exciting, and the feeling of relief, accomplishment, pure JOY when reaching the top was indescribable. And even more indescribable, if that’s possible–the sunrise on top of Mount Fuji. I had dreamed of getting to do this since 8 years old (I remember telling Ms. Alesczyck how badly I wanted to go to Mount Fuji when she was just talking about the local sushi restaurant) so finally getting to do this, with my Yakage-made dorayaki in my hand, was a feeling I hope I won’t forget.
And since the Goraikou was indescribable, I won’t bore you any longer with words that cannot recreate an experience. But one thing I don’t want to forget from this sunrise is this:
The Goraikou, something that carries so much meaning, something that was probably the most beautiful thing I’ve seen in my 23 years, something that serves as a whole national symbol for Japan, happens everyday. A sunrise, in the grand scheme of things, is so normal and expected that we usually wake up for work without giving it a second thought. Yet, this daily event is such a miracle because it opens and greets the day. It allows us to start anew. It marks the passage of time yet it’s one of the only things that always stays the same. Whatever we do, the sun always rises and the sun always sets…and to have witnessed just how incredible the sun’s greeting is makes me want to remember how much of a gift my yesterday, today, and tomorrow are no matter how difficult they may be.
on top of the volcanic crater! with a hiker wearing the best hat
it literally feels like another world...I wanted to just step off the moutnain and be caught by the clouds
the one, the only, goraiko!
Anyways, enough with the meta talk. I went, I saw, I ate, and I sprinted down the mountain to catch a bus that came an hour later than I had expected. And although I was winded from zig-zagging steep ash paths for 5KM (with one bathroom break and no other stop), the unnecessarily fast descent brought me another new group of friends (this time 4th year college students from Osaka) who informed me what college life, Osaka life, and onsen life is like. Also life-life, as we were randomly interviewed for a TV channel?
The journey ended getting lost in the Tokyo Station Labyrinth until my departure on another night bus back to Okayama…at that point, my legs felt like full gallons of curdled milk, but it didn’t matter because dang nabbit, I climbed Mt. Fuji. And crashed a mountain climbing bachelor party. And lastly, the Tokyo Station labyrinth led me to the best bowl of ramen in Japan so far. SO yes. A success in the books.
my treat after the climb...a $6.50 tsukemen that made me literally gasp in delight, had in Tokyo Station.
