吉田口登山道The Yoshida route

The Summit, in Two Days

Three thousand seven hundred and seventy six metres, done the slow way. We leave the fifth station in the afternoon, sleep at the eighth, and walk the last hour in the dark so the crater arrives with the sun.

Yoshida route Two days, one night on the mountain July to early September From ¥86,000

Months the summit route is open

Summit route open

August is the month the crater is busy.

Every trail open, every hut full, and a queue on the last hour before sunrise. We leave the fifth station earlier than most people do, and we sleep higher.

Route: Yoshida route, fifth station to the crater
Nights on the mountain: One, hut at the eighth station
Group: Six climbers, one guide
From: ¥86,000

The rim of the Mount Fuji crater above a sea of cloud

一日目

Fifth station at two in the afternoon.

Two thousand three hundred metres, and everybody else is coming down. We walk up through the afternoon at a pace that feels too slow, because the people who suffer at three in the morning are the ones who felt strong at four in the afternoon. Dinner and a bunk at the eighth station.

Climbers on the volcanic upper slope of Mount Fuji

二日目

Out of the hut at one, on the rim by four.

The last stretch is a torchlit queue on most nights, so we go before it forms. There is a small wooden torii on the rim and a crater the size of a village, and then we walk the whole thing round before we start down the Subashiri sand run.

A weathered wooden torii gate on the rocky summit of Mount Fuji

Fourteen hundred metres of it, and we sleep two thirds of the way up.

Day one, afternoon Day two, before dawn

Covered a guide to every six climbers, in English and Japanese.

Covered the hut at the eighth station, dinner and a bunk.

Covered Kawaguchiko station to the fifth station and back.

Covered helmet, headtorch, a shell if you need one, and your trail registration filed for you.

Not covered getting to Kawaguchiko, mountain insurance, and the trail fee you pay at the gate.

Bring boots you have already walked in. It is the one thing we can't lend you.

A walker on a trail through a stand of tall cedars in mist

Everyone who guides for us grew up under the mountain.

They have walked the Yoshida route in July crowds and in October when it is closed and empty, and they will tell you honestly which one you actually want.

The cedar path below the first station, early morning.