There is a saying about climbing Mount Fuji that goes something along the lines of, and I am paraphrasing here,

You would be a fool for not climbing Fujisan once in your life, but only the dumbest of all idiots climbs Mount Fuji a second time.

Well I didn’t wanna be a fool, so in August 2008 I “climbed” this mountain of all Japan’s icons and I have a new phrase.

I cannot think of one reason good enough to climb Mount Fuji and the person who thought up the other phrase probably had some financial incentive to start that rumor.

You might be thinking that I had a bad experience on the mountain, for example, had bad weather, or got sick but it was neither of these things that led me to my new saying about Mount Fuji. So what is the deal?

Let me start by addressing the two most popular ways to go up Fujisan. Total, the climb up will probably take between 5 and 8 hours, just depending on what kind of shape you are in. To be honest, it is a fairly easy and safe climb as in anyone can do it (I saw kids as young as about 10 to adults who looked to be about 60); however, don’t get me wrong, it is not in anyway way an enjoyable experience. Back to the two ways to climb, both start with taking a bus or somehow getting to the 5th stage then starting the climb from there. Some choose to go during the day, climb as high as you can, get “sleep” at one of the huts until about 3am, and climb the rest of the way to see the sunrise from the top. The other way is to arrive at the 5th stage late, like 9 or 10pm and just climb through the night, without staying, and arrive at the top in time for sunrise. Basically, both options are miserable and you will be exhausted either way.

Next the nature issue. Yes Mount Fuji is a beautiful mountain… from far away! Once you get up to about the 6th stage there is nothing beautiful about it. Just rocks, gravel, dirt, close to price gouging concession stands (yes you read that right and yes I know the supplies have to be carried up the mountain) and mountain huts. I will admit that there is a nice view of the surrounding area, the stars at night (and even the Milky Way on a clear night) and the sunrise is beautiful, but you can get just as good of view from the 5th Stage (you can take a bus there from Kawaguchiko Station or Shinjuku Station), and the sunrise isn’t much more (maybe not at all even) beautiful from the top than it is from a lot of other places. Furthermore, it depends SO much on the weather. There is a good chance because of cloud coverage you will not be able to see anything!

But wait, beauty is in the eye of the beholder right? Maybe I just didn’t appreciate what I saw and maybe you will. Even if I am right, at least you can be at one with nature and just relax right? Not exactly… Besides the fact that you will be “climbing” with thousands of strangers (it isn’t really climbing, but instead, more like walking up a very long outdoor staircase while sometimes waiting in line) so you will not be able to enjoy the “nature” or pitch a tent, camp out and just relax.

Ahh! But there are some hotels/mountain huts! This is true, there are lots of places to rest (average price is about $30 per person for 3 hours) or stay (average price $60 per person) but good luck getting any real rest. They all have the same set up. Basically there will be one big room with futons/sleeping bags placed next together so there is no privacy. Also since there is only one room, and other climbers will be arriving at different times and making plenty of noise as they find their place to lay down. Not to mention these huts are all right next to the path to go up the mountain so there is noise from those climbing through the night. I am not even going to describe the toilet situation, I am sure you can imagine (although I will say I did find some western style toilets).

What about a sense of accomplishment? Really? Are you serious? I got more of a sense of accomplishment from climbing a 20 foot wall at my fitness club when I was 14 years old than climbing the great Mount Fuji. I just told you that I saw kids that were 10 years old doing it! Seriously, just about anyone that is in decent physical shape can do it. The only thing to feel good about after getting to the top is that you are able to climb down.

Oh and about coming down, that is no picnic either. Mainly because you will be exhausted, hungry, dirty, and in some cases wet and grumpy. Not to mention the soil/rocks feel about as stable, as well, lots of small, loose rocks/pebbles on a steep mountain. Good luck not falling at least once. Actually, if you can get the courage to go down quickly, I felt more stable going down swiftly with big steps rather than taking small slow steps. Still be careful. Total, coming down will probably take between 4-5 hours.

So what is my best advice? Don’t climb Mount Fuji at all but instead spend some time close to Mount Fuji in either the spring or fall. The Fuji Five Lakes provide a much more spectacular view of the mountain than the mountain provides of the lakes and surrounding area. If you insist on going up, I suggest without doing any “climbing” at all taking a bus to the 5th stage where you can get good photos with a great view. The top photo was taken close to the top of Mount Fuji and the second one was taken from the 5th stage. It depends more on the weather rather than actually where you are on the mountain.

Seriously, Mount Fuji is much more beautiful from afar, even without the lakes.

Sendai Tanabata is considered one of Tohoku’s top 3 festivals and might be worth the trip to Tohoku if you have the time. I wouldn’t recommend making the trip for those with a short stay in Japan, but for those living in Japan, Sendai Tanabata, along with a trip to Matsushima, could make for a nice weekend.

I say along with Matsushima, because to be honest there isn’t much to Sendai Tanabata. Basically, these decorations are hung all through the covered shopping street and it is really crowded. The decorations are paid for by the shops are really advertisements when in comes down to it; however, some of them are quite impressive. I live close to Sendai, so I have been twice, but I do not feel the need to go a third time.

As a photographer, I feel like you can make some interesting photos. I particularly enjoyed just waiting behind these decorations for people to walk through them. If you are looking for more specific information about Sendai Tanabata here is Sendai City’s Official Tanabata Site or wikipedia.

Question:
What did you see at Gion Matsuri?

Answer:
The back of heads.

Yeah it is a joke, but it can’t be more true. Unless you reserve a seat (link is in Japanese but you can call 075.752.0227 from 9-5 and they should have an English speaker) or arrive super early, don’t expect to get many photos without getting some random person entering your frame. I was climbing on anything I could find space on, which usually meant waiting for another person to get off and it was still hard to get clear shots, unless I was shooting up.

Overall, I thought it was interesting and worth checking out even though it moves a little slow. Below you can see the rope the participators pull to move and turn this gigantic floats at 90 degree angles. There are probably about 20 people pulling.

Anyway, the day I went was just so hot and humid I couldn’t stand to be there more than about an hour before I ventured off into the photographer’s paradise that is Kyoto!

More general and historical information can be found at the Kyoto City Tourism site.

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  • You like canals–Otaru has a famous canal (which can actually make for some interesting photos…maybe)
  • If the Snow Lantern Festival is going on, it might be worth checking out Otaru at night.  This festival goes on around the 2nd week of november, but don’t plan to stay more than a few hours.
  • You like music boxes–there are a few music box museums here
  • You are into glass–there are some interesting glass products and art available here
  • Seafood is your favorite food and you are not content with the seafood in the city where you are
  • You have a very short time slot open and you are bored of your current location
  • Otaru is the only place in Hokkaido you have not been to.

Seriously, Otaru is really close to Sapporo but almost every other place in Hokkaido as a lot more to offer not only for photographers but for an average tourist as well. If you have been and disagree with my, please leave a comment, it is possible I was just in a bad mood and the weather was really bad when I was there…possible, but unlikely!  Let me just say this, it isn’t so much that Otaru is a horrible place, it is more of the rest of Hokkaido being that much better!

For more information about Otaru, see the Japan-Guide.