Fuji Rocks!

I'M ALIVE! I'M ALIVE! That in itself is a surprise to me. As is my state of general wellbeing- no aches or pains, just tiredness and a great sense of achievement. Fuji rocks. The trip went very well despite a hiccup or two, and we all had a great time.

Thiings started off well on Friday night when we all met at Okayama station to board the bus to Fuji. Everyone was anticipating what was to come and pretty soon the bus turned into a big party zone courtesy of alcohol, music and Jaco's quiz (despite the fact that everyone was questioning the answers). The supposed curfew passed and the lights remained on and the music continued to play and while some slept and some became more and more drowsy, others partied on until past 3. I wasn't one of them, instead sleeping intermittently from two am. But as the bus stopped every few hours, most of us experienced broken sleep anyway, but it was a good chance to have bizarre conversations with other people. It also provided an opportunity to eat my first sandwich in Japan, which despite not being very good in a real world sense was actually quite amazing for Japan (they really don't do meat free sandwiches very well). This breakfast stop also provided our first view of the mountain itself. Argh! It's SOOO big!

Our next stop was a small town in Hakone where we walked through a tiny shopping street (contents: 6 souvenir shops, 2 restaurants) and viewed Fuji from across a lake. Again, a very beautiful scene and an opportunity to eat green tea ice-cream and bitch about the amount of make-up shop assistants were wearing.

Then it was the outlet mall. We spent three hours at a shopping mall which mainly carried western brands and wasn't as cheap as outlets at home but was cheap for Japan. Claire, Neil and I ate a lovely Italian meal for lunch and I made only two purchases- trousers at French Connection (for work, but they're too nice really) and Neil and I each purchased a small box of Lego from the Lego shop which was quite amazing...

Back on the bus for an hour and next thing we were at the hostel where we showered and washed, some slept and our group split. Neil was leading a group up the mountain at night to see sunrise from the top, and I was joining his group, so at 5:30 we all headed off in the coach to the fifth station where our journey began.

Having taken photos of the scene and buying climbing sticks and oxygen we started to make our way up the mountain at about 7:30, stopping to take pictures along the way. And it was hard going. We all paired up and some forged ahead with others lagging behind. I was with Tara who was finding it very hard going and developed altitude sickness very early on, so we had to take things very slowly. This also meant that I began to get very cold (I had started the climb in just a polo shirt proclaiming how lucky I was to be British- ie used to the cold) and then I started coughing again. Neil came back down to join us and make sure things were ok, and then had to go back up and check on the others.

As we reached the first part of the seventh station (there were about 7 parts), Tara was really not feeling well and so we stopped and waited to be met by Maricar (who was also not doing well) and Liza (a veteran, having climbed in the day last year). Neil and Adam came back down to give us a hand and carried bags to the next stop for Tara and Maricar, letting Liza and I go ahead so we could warm up. At the next stop, after a lot of talking and debating, Tara didn't feel she could go on, and Maricar was going to wait with her and then climb up slowly, so at about midnight with Neil and Adam going ahead, Liza and I carried on together assisting each other with a hugely positive attitude along the way. We were both determined to make it, although the last stretch was quite slow. We made a couple of stops on the way at the eighth station for a hot cocoa (which really hit the spot) and then at another part of the eighth station where we had miso soup (mmm, warm liquids), and we experienced rude Japanese service staff at every stop. It was quite hilarious and entirely the opposite of what I've experienced at other tourist sites. Other climbers reported paying 1000yen to sit in a rest stop for an hour, and when they were nodding off through lack of sleep, the Japanese staff would come and shout at them and wake them up, or turn off the fire when other climbers sat next to it to warm up. It was shocking!

Anyway, Liza and I followed on seemingly in tandem with a tour group from Kyoto- when we rested they climbed past us and when they rested we climbed past them. And it worked well for the last two hours was a real struggle. We had to scale the hardest rocks yet and climb up paths of volcanic dust where you would take a step and slide back downwards with rocks slipping under your feet. I was very glad of the new hiking shoes I'd purchased.

We finally made it to the top at around 4:25am. If it had been further I'm not sure we'd have made it, but we were both so relieved. We arrived in time for daybreak and we sat in a good spot to see the sunrise. The only thing that would have made it better would have been to have a heater nearby- it was freezing! By the time we got to the top I was wearing three layers, but as we'd stopped climbing the cold really hit us and we shook and shivered throughout the sunrise. After a quick peek at the crater we bumped into others from our group and started the descent. I was feeling great- no aches and pains and suddenly not tired, probably due to the exhilaration of having reached the summit. Only after half an hour of going down I was decidedly going off the whole thing. Again the comany kept us going- our group of Ashley, Martin, Liza, Whyvon, Emilie and Taro talked rubbish all the way down and laughed and joked and swore at the downward paths, especially when the signs stating the distance showed the distance as the crow flew rather than by how far you walked. But after two breaks, my falling over 5 times, and Whyvon and I slipping and almost pushing each other over the edge 3 times we made it back down, and Liza, Whyvon and I did our best homeless impression by finding a park bench to sleep on until the bus came. Except unbeknown to us, it was already there. After the day climbers got back we headed off to an onsen (basically a communal Japanese bath where the water has healing properties) and recharged before the bus journey home.

The bus journey home was also good fun thanks to Richard and Karen from Ehime and Adam. The four of us played silly games for hours, culminating in many rounds of Mallet's Mallet, which became increasingly bizarre as we all became tired and delirious. After lights went out, Adam and I talked until one, then fell asleep only to wake up a 3 for a stop at a service station. We finally arrived in Okayama at 4:45, and rushed to get a train which wasn't coming because it was a holiday. D'oh.

Managing to chat all the way back with Vicky, we detrained (well, you can deplane, so why not detrain?) and Jaco drove us the rest of the way home. Thank you sir! After a slightly delirious call to Leejay I finally went to bed at 9am, waking at 5pm and returning at 11:30. I am at school in one piece, still not aching, but thinking bed would definitely be a good idea.

Once again, Fuji rocks!