I hiked all the way to the summit of Japan’s Mount Fuji – here’s what it was like

It was the kind of introduction to climbing Mount Fuji that made me question my life choices.
I was on the bus from Shinjuku to the Fuji-Subaru Line 5th Station on Mount Fuji, as part of a two-day Mount Fuji climbing tour with a local travel company. Our tour coordinator started the morning, asking if we had an idea how many people die each year, climbing Japan’s most iconic mountain.
There were a few random guesses. “Ten,” he said. “But this year is an exception. Nine people have already died. I hope we don’t have the 10th casualty from the group,” he deadpanned.
“Climbing Mount Fuji is definitely not easy.”
According to statistics, approximately 221,000 to 400,000 people annually attempt to summit the mountain during the climbing season, which typically runs from early July to mid-September. The number of deaths in comparison is minute.
Anyhow, it was too late to back out.
FACTS ABOUT MOUNT FUJI
Standing at 3,776 metres, Mount Fuji is Japan’s highest peak.  Located 100 km southwest of Tokyo, it’s renowned for its symmetrical cone shape, and is an active stratovolcano, with its last eruption occurring in 1707.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2013, Mount Fuji holds deep spiritual significance in Japanese culture, and has been a pilgrimage site from as far back as 17,000 years ago.
There are four primary trails to the summit.
The Yoshida Trail begins at 2,305m at the Fuji-Subaru Line 5th Station. It takes about six hours to ascend, and about four hours to descend on a separate route. The Yoshida Trail has the most mountain huts providing accommodation and selling supplies along the way, most first aid centres and is the most accessible route among the four.
Most climbers take this route, and it is now so popular that this year, the Yamanashi prefectural government limited entry to the trail to between 3am and 4pm, and only to those who pay an entrance fee of ¥2,000 (S$18). There is also a daily cap of 4,000 climbers.
The Fujinomiya Trail starts at 2,380m at the Fujinomiya Trail 5th Station. It is shorter but steeper and takes about five hours to ascend and three hours to descend. Unlike the Yoshida Trail, climbers return the same way they ascend.
The third trail is the Subashiri Trail, which begins at 1,970m at the Subashiri Trail 5th Station. It is less crowded than the Yoshida Trail, and merges with it near the 8th Station. There are fewer mountain huts available, and it takes about six hours to ascend and three hours to descend.
The Gotemba Trail is the longest route to the summit, as it starts from the lowest elevation among the trails, at 1,440m at the Gotemba Trail New 5th Station. It is less crowded, and takes seven hours to ascend and three hours to descend.
You can choose to climb on your own, or join a tour company like I did, which took care of all the necessary entrance fee and mountain hut bookings. I paid ¥41,000, inclusive of transportation, and did the climb, together with my boyfriend and another friend.
Climbing on your own means you can go at your own pace, and decide how high up on the mountain to rest for the night. Mountain huts nearer the summit tend to be more popular.
The Mount Fuji climbing website advises climbers to book their accommodation in advance, and provides a list of mountain huts. This helps to combat “bullet climbing”, which refers to ascending to the summit throughout the night without taking a rest, which can be dangerous.
This year, all four trails will close on Sep 10, and bookings for 2025 season will begin in March. Tour companies either use the Yoshida Trail or the Subashiri Trail. The one I joined uses the Yoshida Trail. You can bring your own gear, or choose to rent. Besides our tour coordinator, we had another two English-speaking guides with us.
ASCENDING MOUNT FUJI
We arrived at the Fuji-Subaru Line 5th Station around noon, and had an hour for lunch and to acclimatise. This was also a good opportunity to pick up a Mount Fuji walking stick – an octagonal-shaped stick that comes in various lengths, costing from ¥600. They make for a great souvenir as you can get stamps branded on them at the different huts for about ¥500 each.
Before we embarked, our guide, who hails from Nepal shared some tips. We would take a 10-minute break after every 30-minute climb to recover and also acclimatise. To help with altitude sickness, he recommended taking deep breaths and sips of water. One other pro tip: Always drop your backpack when resting to conserve energy.
The Yoshida Trail begins through a forested area. The terrain from the 5th to 6th Stations is mostly flat, and it is easy to walk on the volcanic ash and soil.
Past the 6th Station, the trail transitions to a more rocky terrain. The soil is mixed with larger volcanic rocks and gravel, making the path steeper and more challenging.
Having heard stories from friends who had gone on earlier climbs being totally drenched during thunderstorms, I was thankful we had good weather, save for a short downpour.
We are now climbing among the clouds, and can see Lakes Kawaguchiko and Yamanoko, which make up the Fuji Five Lakes region.
We had a longer break at the mountain hut at the 7th station, located 2,740m above sea level. Mountain huts offer food, such as Japanese curry and rice, cup noodles, corn soup and a sweet red bean soup with grilled rice cake. Our guide advised against eating too much as it would make climbing more difficult.
There are well-maintained toilets at the mountain huts, and they require a fee from ¥200.
As we climbed higher, the terrain got rougher. I found using the trekking poles helpful in getting me up the boulders, although at times, it was just easier to get on all fours and climb. In addition, there were also many high steps to hoist myself up on. Thankfully, the past months of personal training sessions made the climb less strenuous.
Altitude sickness on the other hand, was difficult to deal with. Despite taking breaks, I constantly felt fatigued, and had to take breaks every 15 minutes. Still, I felt slightly dizzy and nauseous. Slowing down my breathing, taking sips of water and munching on raisins helped, and I climbed at a slower pace and took smaller strides.
After a gruelling six-and-a-half hours climb, I was elated when we finally reached our rest stop for the night, Tomoekan, at the 8th station, located 3,400m above sea level.
We were assigned our beds for the night. You sleep in a row with other climbers, but you get a comfortable mattress, a pillow and a blanket. There are no shower facilities, so after a wipe down, we headed to the dining area for dinner – rice with curry, a hamburger patty, some pickles and a cup of tea. Of course, you can order more items, such as miso soup or cup noodles.
With everyone feeling exhausted, it was lights out at 9.30pm. If you are a light sleeper, getting ear plugs and wearing an eye mask will do wonders.
SUNRISE AND THE SUMMIT
We were roused at 3.15am for breakfast, comprising three buns and a bottle of water. Once properly dressed, with an inner base layer, jacket and an outer shell and headlamp, we began the final ascent at 4am.
With sunrise in 45 minutes, we ascended as high as we could, before stopping at a spot off the trail. We sat in silence, watching in awe, as the sky turned reddish orange, before the sun peeped up from behind the clouds and rose higher into the sky. It was indeed a magical moment.
We soon got back on the ascent, taking another break at the 9th station. Not going to lie, the final stretch to the summit was the hardest, especially when you could see the end point but yet was still a distance away. The terrain is predominantly composed of volcanic rock and gravel, with very little soil, and requires taking big steps to climb.
Breathing gets harder at this point, but with one final push, I made it to the summit at 3,776m, into the welcoming arms of our third guide.
We were given time to catch our breaths and collect the final stamps for our walking sticks.
THE LONG AND WINDING DESCENT
While it took us about nine hours to reach the summit, descending took half the time, but it was still a long journey down.
The descending route on the Yoshida Trail differs from the ascending one. The ground here is mostly gravel, and gaiters help keep loose stones out of the hiking boots.
The route down the mountain is steep on some sections and is largely zigzagged. Descending was tough on the knees, but using hiking poles lessened the discomfort, and also prevented slips.
It was a long way down, and we took breaks along the way. By this time, it was starting to get hot, so the jackets and outer layers came off.
For me, time seemed to pass really slowly, and at one stage, after what I felt was a long walk, it turned out I had only completed 700m. Tiredness and frustration at how long descending took was setting in. There were horses that you could ride to go down on, but I didn’t want to take the easy way out.
After what seemed like hours, we finally reached the forested area, but that still wasn’t the end point. It would be another 30 mins walk before we finally reached Fuji-Subaru Line 5th Station. Our reward after the two-day climb? A hearty lunch with ice cold beer at a nearby restaurant.