This past weekend, I had the opportunity (misfortune if you follow the quip: A wise man climbs Fuji once, only a fool climbs it twice) of climbing Mount Fuji again. Just like last year, Okayama AJET organized a trip to Fuji, only this time, I was in charge of the "night climb" or climbing starting at night with the hopes of reaching the summit for sunrise on top of Fuji, something that is supposed to be hair-raising and a the ultimate Fuji experience.
Here's the bus which road us up to the 5th station.
As you can see, it's a pretty bright moon. Yes, it was actually 月見 or moon-viewing night, thus a 満月 or full moon. So just as the near full moon for the half-dome hike, I also had a full moon and plenty of moonlight for this hike. With most of Mount Fuji being above treeline, it turned out to be a very lucky and welcome addition to the trip (flashlights were rarely used).
We started the climb VERY early actually, since gates closing down to the mountain from 8pm-3am prevented us from starting at what would have been a more reasonable hour. Here's some of the first views of the moon and mountain:
The walk up the mountain at night was fabulous for several reasons:
1. It was not hot at all, and actually not until near midnight quite a reasonable temperature. Midnight to 5am though was brutally cold.
2. The moonlight offered more than enough light to hike.
3. The view was amazing. Full moon, lights of the cities below making a glow-bright like image, and very few clouds. Absolutely fantastic and mystical.
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