Sunrise and Down Again.

From the itinerary for 21 August 2023: Wake up early in the morning (1am) and make your way to the top to catch the sunrise. Don't forget to take many pictures with your camera! Then spend the rest of the morning hiking

down the mountain. Upon reaching the 5th station of Mount Fuji (ending point of Mount Fuji

climb), head back to your accommodation near Kawaguchiko station, take a shower and relax.

The detailed timetables for the bus from Kawaguchiko to the Fuji-Subaru Line 5th Station can

be found on the official website of the Fujikyuko Bus. You can also get more detailed

information concerning the bus options here (in English).

I am so glad I went up yesterday in the daylight- I would have hated doing that hike in the dark. The only positive is that it would have been a better temperature. I was up at 3 because I want to do a time lapse of the sunrise. I was so cold I wore all the cold weather gear I brought.

Since the moon had set I took the opportunity to go star gazing and see if the recent meteor shower was still active. I didn't see a lot of meteors, but did see some!

As it was rather quiet except for those stopping on the way up, I saw a small mouse/rat that felt comfortable enough to come up and investigate (no photo).

Here is the sunrise!

It took me about 2 hours to get down from the hotel. The below should be read from right to left:)

Although I don't have pictures, some of the descent was quite steep and many weren't dressed for it. One man, in sneakers, with one of the stupid wooden poles, was trying to get down one section and I wasn't sure he was going to make it. I stopped to try to help him, but he didn't really want my help.

Here are some shots looking up the mountain and you can see some of the Sika deer and a last look at the tea houses.

And some horses along the trail

A note about some of the strangest dressed on the way up/down the mountain. There was one guy staying at my hut who went up no pack, no poles, no water, and no hat. I saw a guy at the 7th station who decided to redo his coiffure and re- spray his hair. There was one gal coming down the "up" path, meaning she couldn't make it further, who was in moon boots. There were many in tennis shoes, no socks, no poles, etc...

As I got down to the 5th station I now felt comfortable enough to buy my souvenirs of the climb and have a snack, since my breakfast was at about 3 am.... The soup was quite good. I did mail a postcard from Japans (and Europe's) highest post office!

The only interesting thing to note on the bus ride down was it was standing room only and a young man was so tired he almost (literally) fell asleep standing up. At one point I asked if he wanted my seat so he didn't injure himself...

It felt wonderful to feel my energy return as I came down in altitude. Took my time and enjoyed it.

Some stats- it took me 6.5 hours up and 3.51 hours down. AllTrails says the avg to comple is 7.37 minutes, so I took about 30% more time:(

It was still early by the time I got down to Kawaguchiko. So I looked around the town and had a "Mt Fuji" ice cream.

I realized I had been here in 2015 (on left)- here's the same street corner! Temp in 2015 was much nicer-22degrees vs 30!

While I was waiting for checkin time, I walked over to see the Yamanashi Gem Museum. This was a pleasant surprise with many samples and a very nice store to purchase along side!

Then in to Lake Kawaguchi. Lake Kawaguchi is one of the five lakes surrounding Mt. Fuji. These lakes were formed as a result of barrage formation by volcanic debris and solidified magma spewed out of Mt. Fuji and the off-spring volcanic outlets nearby. The lake is the oldest of the five and it is at least 50-60 thousand years old. There are scores of underwater springs at the lake bottom. There is no discernible surface flow into or out of the lake. The area does look a lot like Europe.

On the way back I finally almost saw Mt Fuji