富士山に登る Climbing Mt. Fuji

1:45am I get out of bed to get ready. We leave our apartments at 2:30am-ish and walk to the bus stop at the school. Along with us 14 EAPers, there were 5 tutors and couple others (mainly exchange students from China and few people from the school). The bus takes it's leave around 3:00am and the ride to our destination took about 1-1 1/2 hours.

We arrive at about half way up the Mt. Fuji which is where the main starting point is. I'm glad because I don't think I'd be able to start from the bottom XP Everyone heads the restroom to change and get ready and before heading off we have a little orientation. After doing warm-ups we head off. It was about 4:30am when we started walking. As we walked we could see the sun starting to rise. The view was absolutely amazing. Pictures can't compare to the sight you see with your own eyes. Probably one of the better sun rises I've ever seen in my life!

We continued on with a couple uphills. Being a physically inapt person I started getting tired right away! We haven't even reached the main parts yet >.< After a couple minutes of walking we finally reach the point where the trek was going to be rougher. We took a small break at the point where thew view was equally as amazing! At this point you can see the clouds. They were really puffy. Almost wanted to jump on them lol After the short break we headed off. This was the point where we started to split off. The fast group went way ahead, the middle group stayed at a steady pace and the slower group took their time. I was between the middle and slow group. I was with one other EAPer and we kept each other company while heading up the first trail. We took quite a bit of breaks. Going up slopes is really tiring. Also, at this point I started hating stairs because they require a bit more leg energy. Eventually, we made it the first rest stop. I've already gotten really tired and my legs were already in pain. We took a break for a couple minutes. We stocked up on energy by snacking on some food and water.

After the first stop we were introduced to just how rough the road to the top was going to be. The next trail required actual climbing. Rough, large rocks required you to use your hands and to carefully plant your feet so you wouldn't fall. I actually found that part to be a little fun and a little easier. It was more dangerous and rougher, but I found my self less tired since I was able to distribute my energy a little more equally instead of using mainly my legs. At the end of every trail were a set of stairs. I've never hated stairs so much in my life x.x A couple of times I found my self using my legs and hands to climb up the stairs because I've gotten tired already. Sometimes I sucked it up and climbed up using just my legs, but I soon found myself not caring how undignified I looked XP Trust me, when you're that tired and not wanting to severely hurt yourself you wouldn't care how you climb up that mountain haha.

After that were a couple more trails and more rest stops. The trails consisted mainly of rocky paths that required climbing, but there were also regular sloping paths. Every time we stopped at a rest stop I got happy because my legs were so tired they felt like they were going to fall off x.x They felt like they were going to numb out on me! And every time we walked pass a rest stop without stopping a little bit of me died inside, but I kept going knowing that with every step I was getting closer to the top. The climb was so painful I often found my self saying もうだめだ！(No more!), もうやだ！(I don't want to do this anymore!), 死にたい(I want to die...), できない！(I can't do it!). It was that bad x.X but thanks to the support of the others and just knowing how close I was I kept going. Also, things were getting a little scary when we started to hear thunder not too far. We were actually warned about there being a thunderstorm on Mt. Fuji that day. Quite scary, but nothing bad really happened.

We eventually reached the last stop. By this point I've slowed down to the slow group. The trail from here to the top was the toughest and most painful one of all! That one long stretch was the worst! It felt like Hell x.x I wanted to stop soooo badly. I had to stop like every 10 steps because of how difficult and painful it was. It didn't help that I was already tired and my legs felt like they had no more strength left. For awhile I was on my own. I ended up being the last one of the EAPers, but at that point I didn't care. I wanted to get to the top and I wanted to get there in one piece. Eventually, one of the Chinese exchange students caught up with me and we ended up as walking buddies. I'm glad because I seem to do better when I have someone with me. It's more encouraging and makes you want to not give up and keep going. I wish I knew her name, but I wasn't able to get it :( ありがとうね！

Shop at the summit

After that horribly and painful trail we saw a temple gate with two lion statues. Of course we stopped to take pictures haha but this was also the sign that we've made it! Because right beyond that point was the summit! やった！できた！I did it! I've maid it to the top! After 6 long hours of trekking up those high and rough trails I've finally made it to the top! The great sense of accomplishment you get after going through a rigorous activity like that is beyond great. That's one experience I'll never ever forget! At the top I spent a bit of time at the stores there to buy some souvenirs that proved my achievement ><b but unfortunately, because I spent some time in that store and the fact that I was one of the last ones to get to the top I wasn't able to get a picture of the view below from the top because the group were heading back down. I'm sad I wasn't able to capture the view :( but it was really cloudy when we reached the top so you couldn't see much anyway. I'm still sad about it though....

Now let me write about the way down! Since we left so quickly I had to put on my rain gear while we were heading down since it was starting to rain. Let me tell you, it wasn't that easy xP I was only able to put on a rain coat since everyone was in a hurry to get down. I ended up being in the last group, but who cares. The path down was a little easier since it mainly consisted of a zigzagging slope. I was actually more painful than I thought. At first I just walked down the slope carefully. I found my self sliding a lot. I had to keep myself from falling over and it took a lot of energy in my legs to prevent myself from falling. My feet were starting to hurt since my feet were sliding in my shoes while I was going down the slope. Also, I wore tennis shoes which weren't exactly waterproof. I had to stop at one point to put on an extra pair of socks because my feet were starting to get cold and I didn't want to get frost bite.

We eventually reach a point where a few people in our group were. Well actually, it was like 3 other people plus one of the guides. We headed off down the slope again. One of the guides ran down the slope and I thought it would be fun to try so I did. And it was fun! I just ran down the slope and caught up with the guide. He was quite surprised. His reaction was はやい！(You're fast!). He thought I ski or something but I said I didn't and he suggested that I do XP haha I kinda want to try now lol Anyway, running down the slope was actually a lot easier than walking down. It was more dangerous, though, because as you run down the slope you have a higher chance of leaning forward and tumbling, tripping over a rock, and just losing your balance. As I ran I just made sure to keep my body from falling forward and to make sure to avoid any rocks or gaps. It really wasn't that hard, though, but then again maybe I was just being optimistic haha.

We stopped at another point. At this point I found out that I was actually a head of the others. At the last point a lot of the others decided to take a restroom break. Also, me running down the slope gave me a little head start. I talked with the guides and how I was able to run down the slope. They asked me where I was from and I told them how there's no snow where I was from so I've never tried to ski. Eventually, a couple of the others made it to the point. We took a little break there. After most of the others making it we headed off down the slope once more. I ran down again. It was a little harder here because the slopes had bigger rocks so it was more dangerous. I was in the faster grouper who were the ones that were ahead of everyone else. It was me, 3 other EAPers, a tutor, and one of the guides. Eventually, the guide just went on ahead on his own. We were quite impressed because he was a couple slopes ahead of us! Me, 1 other EAPer, and the tutor ran down the slopes. After every other slope we stopped to wait for the other two. I'm glad though because running down the slopes became rougher. Running down required a bit more oxygen and sometimes I get light-headed if I kept running. My feet were also starting to get painful. I eventually stopped running down the slope and walked down. Another EAPer eventually caught up with us.

We stopped at the last rest point. We stayed for quite a bit. Another group caught up with us, but as soon as they came we left a few minutes after. The path had just a few more zigzags then eventually it became one long path. I kinda didn't like that because I liked the fact that we took a little break at every other zigzag point. But it wasn't too bad. There were parts that had stairs which I liked because using stairs to go down was a lot better than using stairs to go up. I ran down the slopes a few times despite the pain my feet, but I just wanted to get down plus I got to rest a bit more waiting for the others XP We stopped a little at one area. There were horses there. You can actually rent a horse to use to go down, but it's really expensive.

We continued on our way down.  About 30 minutes or so we finally made it back to the starting point. Oh the satisfaction and relief you get after climbing up Mt. Fuji and making down in one piece is amazing! However, at that point all I could think about was taking a shower and going to bed lol I was so beat I felt like I couldn't do anything anymore! I was surprised that I was still able to walk!

A view from Mt. Fuji

Climbing Mt. Fuji is one experience I'll never forget. The experience was very painful and rigorous and so many times I just wanted to stop and give up. When you're forced to keep going even though you know you're at your limit is really difficult. I felt like dying so many times because of that, but you learn to suck it up and keep going. I've gotten so far I wasn't about to give up. That's the thought I had in my head the whole time while climbing Mt. Fuji. It took nearly 12 hours to climb up and to descend the mountain. 12 hours was long and it felt a lot longer than that, but hey I managed to make it and I'm glad I was given the opportunity to do so! I honestly didn't think I would be able to do all that within one day! Even though, this experience is one that I'll never forget and one I'm glad I was able to have I don't think I'll ever climb the mountain again. Knowing just how hard it is and how just how high the mountain really is I don't think I'd have the willpower again. It was fun, but climbing up Mt. Fuji is one experience I probably won't do again.