Experience Climbing Mt. Fuji

I climbed Fuji back in August of 1990 or 1991. As you mentioned, it's definitely more of a hike, and not overly challenging. There were a couple of sections where you need to use a chain handrail to pull yourself up, but nothing technically difficult.

Some quick thoughts:

I think it's fairly common to do what we did: take a bus to one of the starting points at night and start the hike around 10pm, hiking through the night in order to catch sunrise from the top.
I came close to but didn't make it to the top by sunrise; it can get really crowded on the trail by that time, to the point where it becomes a standstill.
One of our group came down with altitude sickness (nausea, vomiting) from the climb.
It's quite cold on the hike at night; dress warmly.
There were a number of stations on the way such that you don't have to bring a lot of food or water, but of course prices climb with altitude.

Hope this helps, and let me know if you have any more questions that I can try to answer.

– Tom

On Jan 14, 2011, at 10:21 AM, Stef wrote:

Let me know, since I may try this in 2011. I understand it’s not exactly a “climb” (as with ropes etc.) but more of an endurance hike.

Stefan